With the first year of marriage behind us, my wife and I looked to celebrate. Our only goal in celebrating was to be as far away from civilization as we could get. We just wanted it to be the two of us and explore the nature and landscape. A place that existed without cell service and internet. Needless to say, that we indeed succeed in finding such a location. We spent the weekend in an unincorporated town in West Virginia. A town in which you had to drive 30 minutes, just to get to the post office, in one direction. And nearly an hour to get into town in the opposite direction. No cell service, no internet, simply isolation. Let me tell you – it’s nice to get away from it. For a period.
Though, I couldn’t image taking on something like the Overlook Hotel for five months amid isolation and snow. Though the 1980 classic, The Shining, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) – an inspiring writer – embarks on the journey to write the great American novel. Jack is tasked, along with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), to watch the Overlook Hotel during its winter months. Though, its within the increasing isolation that Jack begins to slip mentally and eventually aims to end his family’s existence. The Shining feels like a dual character study. In one regard, you have the slow increasingly mad brilliance of Jack who is attempting to cure writer’s block but coming up short. In his attempt to cure the blockage, he explores the Overlook, which feeds into his slow burning mental state.
Nicholson’s ability to balance charm with insanity is something to marvel at. Nicholson, alone, elevates the film to new heights – creating an electricity that sparks a fascination worthy of some of cinema’s best and brightest performances. The slow burn arc of Jack Torrance is pure mastery. The beginning charm to the final act of murderous blood lust is spectacularly done. Nicholson, alone, makes The Shining worth the watch. While the narrative hinges largely on Jack, it equally focuses on his son, Danny and his psychic premonitions. While by the end, a large portion of the storytelling focuses exclusively on Jack, Danny is a worthy competitor for the spotlight. Lloyd does a brilliant job at bringing him alive. Demonstrating the innocence and generational curse of mental illness – Lloyd manages to create an engaging narrative even at a young age. Even for the shots which feature solely facial expressions – Lloyd delivers a stunning performance.
While The Shining is filled with astonishing performances from Lloyd and Nicholson – Duvall feels a bit like the black sheep of the movie. The scenes that she has with Nicholson feel a bit hard to watch. The two have little to no chemistry – in fact, it’s borderline uncomfortable. Maybe that is because a large portion of their relationship feels like an abuser and the victim. If that’s what they were going for, they largely succeed. Still, Duvall feels oddly placed within the confides of the Overlook Hotel. Though, she does fit in nicely with the role of mother. Her scenes with Lloyd are her best by far within the film.
Director and co-writer, Stanley Kubrick, certainly has his own style of filmmaking. Kubrick is arguably one of the most influential filmmakers within the last hundred years. Kubrick is an utterly fearless visionary and The Shining is a prime example of his influence. Though some of the artistic decisions within the course of the narrative feel a bit repetitive. It feels as if an arthouse genre and the horror genre are arguing and both attempting to get your attention. The cinematography is indeed great, just a bit over the top in certain aspects.
Overall, The Shining, is a slow burn film aiming for the masterpiece status and falling slightly short in the end. The artistic influence of Stanley Kubrick brings into question the film’s identity. Attempting to occupy both the arthouse genre and the thriller genre – The Shining feels unsure of itself in certain aspects. The artistic cinematography feel a bit redundant by the film’s third act. Though performances from Jack Nicholson and Danny Lloyd elevate the film to new heights. Lloyd is able to deliver a memorable performance even without opening his mouth. Nicholson, however, is the heart beat of this film. Delivering the now iconic performance of Jack Torrance, Nicholson rightfully demonstrates why and how he brought that performance into icon status. He is absolutely an unstoppable powerhouse within the confides of The Shining. Nicholson, alone, gives viewers a reason to check out The Shining. Repetitively beautiful, unsettling, haunting – The Shining will shine long past its credits.
RORSCHACH RATING
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