Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is hired to watch over the "Overlook Hotel" during the Winter which is way up in the mountains. He brings his Wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and his son Danny (Danny Lloyd) to keep him company and to give them something to do. However, as time goes on they get snowed in, Jack is losing his sanity, Danny has a power called "The Shining" and is seeing ghosts and scary images in the hotel from his power and imaginary friend and Wendy is thinking that they should leave the hotel. The film is based on the "Stephen King" book and like many films this film is really different to the source material which Stephen King hated which made him film a Television remake that's more true to the original story. Like most of my reviews, I'm not comparing this by the book, I'm simply looking at this as a stand alone film and Kubrick's own vision and take on the story. All I'm saying is, if you love the book, than the film won't please you but then again it's a film and a complete different media and things will indeed change. Anyway, ON WITH THE REVIEW...
Jack Nicholson as our main villain is one of his best performances of all time. I talked about his performance and character when I placed him as one of my all time favorite movie villains, so I won't go into to much detail about his character or performance. Nicholson really fits the role so well that you actually believe that he's crazy as well as coming off as creepy, unsettling and scary. Like I said before when I talked about him on my villain's list, I always fell under the impression that Kubrick intended this character to be a demon who's been around for many years instead of being an innocent father who's gone mad like in the King story and while I enjoy the original take on the character, I actually enjoy this version of Jack the most since it leaves you with questions and makes the character more frightening. If Jack Nicholson didn't play the role of the crazy and sadistic Father then I don't think the film wouldn't have been half as entertaining or fun. It can still be scary but Jack Nicholson's performance adds to the films insanity so well that no actor can bring that same insane, crazy and horrifying performance as well as Nicholson can.
Now lets talk about the supporting characters. I'm going to be completely honest about Shelley Duvall as Wendy, I really think she wasn't that bad. Yeah people do find her to be annoying or goofy and silly looking at points and others feel like that there was a huge miscast and if you're distracted by it, well I can understand why. However, with that said I actually think she played the role fine than being the "Jar Jar Binks" of the movie. Her scared reactions and energy feels realistic and perfect, her acting really captures the innocence of this character and she does bring a great motherly feel. She was also bullied a lot by Kubrick on the set and put so much into her emotional scenes that it was really difficult for her and for that I give her lots of credit for it. The kid who plays Danny is really a great actor for a kid around his age. He brings the innocence of this playful and scared child really well and convincingly, his acting sounds and looks professional instead of looking like a kid who knows he's in a film and above of all I really love the scenes when his imaginary friend takes over his body. It's not over the top, it doesn't look like the kid is acting, it actually looks like the kid is taken over by his imaginary friend with his emotionless facial expressions and eerie voice and above all, the kid DOESN'T even know he's in a horror movie! It's a real shame that this kid didn't go on to other films but then again, maybe that's part of the reason why his performance here is so great. Finally we have Scatman Crothers as the Hotel Cook who also has "The Shining" and come on, it's Scatman Crothers who's one of those actors that you just got to enjoy in whatever film or TV show he's in. He makes his character lovable, his relationship with Danny is cute and his scared and worried reactions are great. As for the rest of the cast, they're all great and perfect for their roles.
The Shining is one of those films that film buffs, critics, horror fanatics and so on just love to talk about and analyze. One of the things people love to talk about are the mirrors and double images. The double images are shown in the background that you have to catch, there's the two Grady's, two twins, Danny's split personality, the beautiful and dead side of the lady in 327 and so on. As for the mirrors (Which are also two) notice that most of the time when Jack sees a ghost, he's in front of a mirror which could mean that Jack is talking to himself in the mirror which is slowly turning him into a mad man. However, there are other times when the characters are seeing ghosts and there are no mirrors present and a Ghost actually does help Jack at one point during the film. Could it be that the ghosts are real, is it just them losing their sanity from the isolation or could it be both? That's what I love about this film it just messes with you and keeps you thinking and thinking. Personally, I think the place is indeed haunted since The Overlook Hotel is built on an Indian burial ground which of course is not good since it's a curse which would explain the ghosts in the Hotel. The film even hints and references the doom heritage of the Indians such as seeing the "Calumet" baking powder with the Indian logo by Dick in the walk in freezer, people say the noise of Jack's Tennis ball is disturbing or awakening the ghosts of the past, one of our characters uses an old Indian trick to escape our villain and some say the blood in the elevator is symbolizing the spill of native blood. There's plenty of other theories people have come up with or talked about like the Tennis ball, the foreshadows of death and chaos through TV and when people are playing or doing regular things, the nods to the novel (Like the Bear costume guy and the old man being the manager and his secretly gay friend from the book for example) connections to maybe faking the Apollo moon landing... the Holocaust (Ok the last two are probably reading to much into the film)? Yeah, this one film that has been analyzed to death and to me that's part of the reason why the film's so great.
Some find the film to be boring, overlong, not scary, doesn't have a good narrative structure, or not even being a real horror film, and while I understand the boring and long part, really some people don't find it scary? Well, it's all a matter of opinion, but seriously, no one found the twins scary; no one found the room 237 lady scary; no one thought Lloyd the bartender was creepy; no one was scared by Jack's insanity; no one found some of the surprise scares scary; no one was thrilled by the frightening music; no one was pulled into it's creepy atmosphere and setting? Well, again, it's all a matter of opinion and if this film didn't scare you, hey it's your own personal view; for me I think it's terrifying! The film's atmosphere is scary, the cinematography gives you the feeling of being trapped in a maze like haunted hotel as well as giving you creative shots and scary imagery, the music gives the film it's mood and scary tone and in story wise I feel like the film does tell it's story fine, but I also feel like that the lack of detail and explanation for some moments, characters and scenes in the film are what make it so interesting, leaving the viewers to think for themselves and to be honest without that strategy I don't think the film would be half as interesting, analyzed or talked about (Aside from Jack Nicholson). As for not being a real horror film, I don't understand how it's not, however, I will indeed call it a unique horror film that only Kubrick can bring, because there's something about it that's very unusual from most horror classics that I just can't put my finger on why.
"The Shining" is one of those films that just leaves you into thinking as well as leaving the viewer to come up with their own conclusion and analysis of the film and with it's great acting (Especially from Jack Nicholson), that Gothic, horror and surreal environment, memorable scenes, great cinematography and visuals, great setting and new take on the King story and having everything that we love in a Kubrick film. It's truly a horror masterpiece by the great Stanley Kubrick and only gets better by each viewing.
RATING 5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment