Movie : The Shining

Opening shot takes us along a beautiful mountain road arriving at an old hotel secluded in the mountains. A writer takes on the job of caretaking the hotel over the winter. His wife and young son accompany him. The isolation, the hotels violent past and it’s living breathing horrors help drive the already unstable writer crazy. Putting his wife and child in danger.

When this film came out there was more than a little anticipation on my part. The three reasons were Kubrick, King and Nicholson. I was a big fan of all their works. I felt I was in for a real treat. And as it turned out I was.

Kubrick puts his stamp on the story. It’s his style with a lot of substance. He has a lot to work with. A really good story by Stephen King and casting choices in Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall that are perfect. Kubrick builds the sense of isolation and the hotel’s ever tightening hold on Jack. It really is scary shit when someone is losing their mind. Stanley’s camera angles, lighting, movement, music give the hotel Overlook a  menacing life. It’s alive and it’s working on the Torrences. So many great scenes and shots.

The performances are solid and Kubrick makes the most of them. Joe Turkel as the stoic bartender Lloyd and Philip Stone as Grady the previous caretaker (“your family needs correction Mr Torrence”) are memorable and bang on.  Scatman Crothers adds some nice work. Jack Nicholson gives a slow burn into madness. He is pretty subtle throughout (which I really like) but takes the reigns off at the end. You believe he’s fucking gonesville.  Shelly Duvall really does some nice work here. We can really feel her being in the situation. Her inherent innocence and vulnerability really adds to her believability. I can’t say enough about her performance. Her Wendy is just too nice  a person for this to  happen to. Helpless and scared shitless.

I felt trapped and not safe as this film played out. Stanley Kubrick’s direction made me feel this way. He really does make a good film. It is a head trip that engaged me from the start right up to the end. So if you’re looking for a little weekend getaway with your sweety take a pass on The Overlook. Bad things happen there.