Darabont Loses Some of The Film's Potential In the Titular Mist...

Rating: 7/10 (8 August 2017)

Writer-director Frank Darabont's The Mist is a film I wanted to like a lot more than I ended up liking. This is, after all, another Stephen King adaptation from the same director who brought to the screen the greatest King adaptation of all, The Shawshank Redemption (it edges The Shining by a hair.) But instead, I was left with a certain feeling of dissatisfaction when the credits started rolling, a feeling that was likely compounded by the film's absolute sucker punch of an ending. The film follows a group of individuals taking refuge in a grocery store after an unnatural mist covers the town after a violent thunderstorm the night prior. Inside the mist, hide supernatural monsters that threaten the residents' existence. King used the original story to tell a story about human beings in the face of extreme odds, a concept that Darabont entertains to generally successful results. There's a lot to admire here, but there's also a handful of flaws that hold it back from reaching greatness.
For one, Thomas Jane feels miscast as the film's protagonist, David Drayton, a freelance artist. In fact, he almost single-handedly ruins the film's ending because he makes it nearly impossible to take him seriously. The misfire of his casting stands out both because of his somewhat wooden performance and for the simple reason that everyone else in the cast fits their role like a glove. Marcia Gay Harden delivers an excellent performance as Mrs. Carmody, a fanatical Christian who believes that the mist signifies the coming of the apocalypse. Playing the film's despicable antagonist, Harden delivers stellar work, demonstrating that sometimes the real monster isn't lurking around in the shadows, but rather standing right next to you. Toby Jones also turns in a solid performance as Ollie Weeks, the assistant manager of the store, gradually transforming from a seemingly meek individual to one of Drayton's essential allies as the rift between Drayton's group and Carmody's followers grows. Even Laurie Holden, who has often been slighted for her role as Andrea in AMC's The Walking Dead manages to deliver. Playing Amanda Dumfries, an elementary school teacher, Holden makes the most of her somewhat limited material. Apart from Drayton, the rest of these characters lack depth, but the performers make for a saving grace.
The film does tackle some thought-provoking ideas and themes, examining the way human beings react to extreme situations. Considering the film's release a decade ago, Darabont prominently focuses on the rift that forms between the aforementioned groups, which serves as an obvious parallel for the Bush-era conflict between Christian, right-wing thinking and more secular, left-wing ideology. While it wouldn't have hurt to portray the groups with a bit more nuance (the division between the two becomes entirely too clear), Darabont deserves credit for his willingness to make a horror film with more than just scares on its mind. But as for the horror, that's where Darabont's film excels. There are genuine moments of dread and terror throughout, as the groups in the supermarket deal with both the creatures of the mist and themselves. And Darabont accomplishes this by establishing a convincingly ominous atmosphere rather than relying on jump scares. The film feels like a monster movie from the '50s, and I really wish I could have been able to watch the B&W version.
However, Darabont's writing falters when compared to his directing. About halfway through the film, a romance scene occurred between two minor characters that felt incredibly jarring considering that the majority of the film had focused on Drayton up to that point. Furthermore, the next time we see these characters, one of them immediately dies at the hands of the creatures, as Darabont seems to believe that a shoehorned romance scene mere moments prior will be enough to raise the emotional stakes of their death. It just doesn't work though and feels more like lazy storytelling than anything else. Now I can't comment on how much development King's original novella offers for these two characters, but considering Darabont's willingness to tweak the ending, he could have fleshed out the relationships between these characters more. And as for that ending, I can't say that I necessarily agree with it. Darabont's conclusion delves into far darker territory than that of the novella's, creating a genuinely shocking moment. I do appreciate that he didn't deliver a forced happy ending. But his ending, one so ruthlessly bleak and nihilistic, probably should have been scrapped in favor of the ambiguity that the original ending provides.
I wish that I hadn't been left slightly disappointed by The Mist. While there's plenty to enjoy, from the taut scares to the retro '50s vibe and the generally solid performances, storytelling problems and the soul-crushing ending hold it back from entering the upper echelon of King adaptations.
Rating: 7/10 (Good)