The Shining has spent years on my list of Top 5 films of all time. I mean, the Stephen King story by itself is already inventive and extremely engrossing, turning cabin fever into an actual personality formed by repeated evil in a single location. But "shining" through the lens of Stanley Kubrick's exceptional directorial style and the charismatically petulant performance of Jack Nicholson?
For me, that's a masterpiece.
Now, that isn't to say the film is flawless. Kubrick's focus on transforming The Shining into an experience does come at the cost of story and character development(the lynchpin of Stephen King's criticism). As such, it may not be the most emotionally fulfilling film you'll ever see nor does it function as a legitimate adaptation of the author's work. But that is not to its shame. Kubrick's film is legendary for a reason - because it's a unique, powerful psychological horror. He didn't duplicate King's achievements from the novel, but rather started out from the same place and reached his own.
However, there is one myth about the film I'd like to overturn, and that is that Nicholson's Jack Torrance lacked depth. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nicholson's Torrance lacked warmth, undoubtedly. But he was hardly an uncomplicated lunatic. If anything, he resembled the novel's depiction of Jack's father - someone devoured by his own injured pride as father of the family and the man that brings food to the table. You can practically hear Jack's mind ticking like clockwork, cringing at every sound that Duvall's whiny incarnation of Wendy makes. Nicholson is never dull for a moment, constantly reacting to the environment in a way that keeps the audience's attention glued on him.
Another thing I love about The Shining is its use of creepy period-appropriate classical music. Who can ever listen to "Midnight, With The Stars And You" again and not think of this film? The booming, ominous score as the Torrances' VW approaches the Overlook is similarly entrenched into our minds forever. Yes, The Shining is a psychological horror experience and sits proudly alongside King's superb supernatural horror novel.
Doctor Sleep is primarily a testament to the infamous rivalry between Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick over the latter's execution of his dearly personal work. The 2013 novel had its own vaguely interesting story to tell, but it was hardly groundbreaking and would've simply blended into King's monolithic bibliography if not for its predecessor. Aside from a mention in the author's notes, King of course ignored the film entirely. And one could easily imagine that a film version would do so as well, creating an alternate universe more akin to the blander 1997 The Shining miniseries.
But instead, director Mike Flanagan braves Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, the studio and the audience and dares to make a film that, quite literally, meets all expectations. It's Doctor Sleep, The Shining 2 and the 1980 Shining transformed into a novel-worthy adaptation, all at once. The results for me are mixed. As a fan of the first film, I was completely onboard for the nostalgic aspects and very impressed by the recreation of the Overlook Hotel. I also appreciated Flanagan appropriating elements of the book that Kubrick omitted, which in a way made it feel as if the story of The Shining truly ended here and not back in 1980.
However, that final act was somewhat jarring as well once I'd become invested in the actual story of Doctor Sleep, to which the Overlook is only tangentially connected to. Given that Danny and Abra's Shining ability heavily factors into the schemes of Doctor Sleep's villains, it seems a pity to merely weaponize the Overlook and not take into account its own personality, which only comes to life to tempt Danny, it seems. Throwing the Overlook between the conflict of Danny/Abra and the True Knot was a masterstroke that begs to be its own film.
If we were dealing with a duology, then the first one could've also focused more on the True Knot and its backstory, which would've helped flesh out the villains and Abra. As it is, Rose The Hat is the only really interesting member of the cult and the time devoted to the rest feels unnecessary and stretched out. It should've been two films, or a significantly shorter film is what I'm saying.
On the positive side, Flanagan's direction is largely lovely - I especially liked the absence of stereotypical jumpscares - and the acting is spot-on. Rebecca Ferguson as Rose The Hat was a brilliant bit of casting, and she's completely magnetic every time she appears. Ewan McGregor, unconvincing American accent aside, is a worthy successor to Jack Nicholson. The irony is that whilst Nicholson was seemingly more similar to the novel Jack Torrance's father, McGregor's Danny here is more similar to the novel's Jack Torrance, being similarly corrupted, but with more hope for redemption(an arc absent from the Doctor Sleep novel).
The recasting of original Shining characters was tastefully done and I didn't find them too distracting.
Overall, an uneven and somewhat sluggish follow-up, but what a terrific finale. Always end on a high note, guys!
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