The Shining (1980)
A film review by Fury
Copyright 1996 Fury
STANLEY KUBRICK'S "THE SHINING" Starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall
Rating Scale: 0 to ****
RATING: ***1/2
"The Shining" is about the happenings at the Overlook Hotel having to do with our main character, Jack Nicholson, and his wife, played by Shelley Duvall, as the caretakers of the hotel over the winter. It is also a good chance for Jack Torrance (Nicholson's character) to get started on his new writing career, but there is undoubtedly something wrong with the granted isolation. Their son, Danny (I don't quite remember the young actor's name), possesses some sort of clairvoyance, known in the film as "the shining". Halloran (Scatman Crothers), who also has 'the shining', is the head chef of the hotel who establishes a slight communication between himself and Danny earlier in the film. Therefore, if something should go wrong in their place for the winter, Danny would be able to telepathically message him. And boy, does it go wrong. A month passes, and we already start to see the craziness in Nicholson's character. Mainly, this is found in the parts in which Jack is typing, trying to work on his new career. Wendy (Duvall) disturbs him, and at this point, the insanity progressively increases. The hotel's past is overshadowed with evil that lingers. Danny is able to see some of the things his family can't. His eyes can see memories of the dark past as if they were real, as well as future events. He can see the evil spirits that reside in the halls and the rooms of the Overlook Hotel. These scenes are nothing short of extraordinary, portraying Kubrick's brilliance in a vivid way. Many of you may disagree with my rating. But I have many reasons to back up the ***1/2. The atmosphere is simply dazzling, both eerie and terror-packed at the same time. The characters could use some work, but that is understandable, because Kubrick obviously didn't want to waste time in giving his message. They are just representations of evil, good, and fear. But the mood more than makes up for the problems in the film, either way. Nicholson does an excellent job in taking the role of an insane man, as it is both entertaining and scary. The other big reason why I gave this film my rating is that it was intelligently meaningful. On the surface, "The Shining" is just a good horror film. But on am much deeper level, it is *filled* with discreet messages that represent Kubrick's object of the film: the origins of evil. You may have to watch it more than once to get all of it, but rest assured, it is well worth it. "The Shining" is a film about evil and its different forms. Some people have said it was overlong, but I couldn't care less, because I found myself entertained and bombarded with many important Kubrick-style messages straight through to the end. Ignore the negative gripes that critics have said about this masterful work. Instead of all that flack they gave you, I found it to be intelligently symbolic, absolutely *amazing* in the atmosphere department, and a good horror film on the surface either way. People, this is a *must-see*. It is a masterpiece. See "The Shining" at any expense.
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