THE SHINING **** (out of five stars) A review by Jamey Hughton
Starring-Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers and Danny Lloyd Director-Stanley Kubrick Rated 18A Released 1980 Warner Bros. Reviewed September 1999
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The Shining, Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film version of Stephen King's novel, received a highly mixed reaction from audiences when originally released. Some King fans, and the author himself, felt that Kubrick had left out many important details and created a simplistic version that paled in comparison to the novel. Other viewers accepted the film as what it was: a skillful, atmospheric and effective horror masterpiece that provided an impressive helping of white-knuckle scares.
I've never read King's novel, and perhaps that's a good thing. The movie I saw was amazing. Kubrick gave the Overlook Hotel, the film's desolate setting, a personality of it's own. From the sweeping hallways and checkered interior to the mysterious hedge maze outside the front doors, the Overlook was the place nightmares were made of. Not a structure out of The Haunting, which went straight for a frightening, gothic appeal. The hotel in The Shining is scary because of it's hidden evil, one that wasn't directly expressed on screen - and this creepy atmosphere is the primary reason why Kubrick succeeds.
Jack Nicholson coins many famous phrases here, among them the widely used `Here's Johnny!' and the endless typed pages of `All work and no play make Jack a dull boy'. Nicholson plays Jack Torrence, a writer who applies for the job of fall caretaker at the Overlook Hotel. For this six month period, along with his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd), Torrence is given the task of being the fall caretaker. Although warned that the hotel could gradually give him a severe case of cabin fever, Jack sees it as an opportunity to get some writing done.
But the real story here lies within young Danny, who has the ability to `shine'. This is a power not unlike ESP, and it's shared by the janitor at the Overlook (Scatman Crothers). Danny sees frightening images in his mind of the hotel hallways filling with blood, and of two young girls beckoning for him to come `play with them'. It's afterward that we find out that a former caretaker at the Overlook went psychotic after many months of desolation, killing his wife and two little girls with an axe. Surely enough, Jack's mind begins to give in to a murderous case of cabin fever, and he goes after Wendy and Danny with a rather unpleasant intent.
Essentially, atmosphere is why The Shining succeeds as well as it does. The atmospheric, goosebump-inducing surroundings of the Overlook Hotel help to overshadow a few major fundamental flaws in the plot. One is Duvall's character, which is often one-dimensional. Her emotions lead her straight from a loving housewife to a woman distraught and running in fear, when there should be a definite transition in-between. (WARNING-Spoilers ahead). Another is the use of the Scatman Crothers' character. The poor guy senses that something is wrong, travels hundreds of miles via various transports, and then fights through a nasty blizzard to get up to the Hotel. As soon as he enters, he gets an axe in the chest. I've heard this is one of the complaints that Stephen King fans had about Kubrick's version, noting that the character was used to a much bigger (and more important) extent in the novel. King, in fact, made his own mini-series in 1997 with Steven Weber in the title role.
Kubrick does many things right here, too. The use of camera angles is stunning and effective, from the opening helicopter shot to Danny's ventures through the winding hallways on his pedal bike. There is genius at work behind the lighting, which is perfectly fixated with light and dark tones in certain scenes. And Nicholson submits a chilling, eerie portrait of a man who's lost his bearings so badly that he resorts to stalking his own family with an axe. The final chase through the hedge maze is absolutely thrilling, perfectly realized at every twist and turn.
The Shining is a movie not devoid of flaws, but it's still an expertly crafted exercise in fear.
(C) 1999. Jamey Hughton
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