The Shining is not quite so bright after all!

Rating: 8/10 (9 August 2000)

Not one of Kubrick's better films by a long piece of chalk but that doesn't mean it's over-hyped rubbish either. But in relation to some of his other films Kubrick falters quite badly when he tries his hand at the horror/suspense genre.
I've read King's novel and to some extent it is far better than the movie. But why King and his die-hard followers keep on banging on about how "totally different" the movie is to the book should realize that Kubrick ADAPTED the book into a working screenplay. Perhaps people should look the word up in the dictionary before firing off loose cannon.
What we are left with is a decent psychological/haunted house kind of affair. Jack Nicholson is a good choice as Jack Torrance who is contracted to look after the empty Overlook hotel throughout the winter season with his weak minded wife and gifted young son.
But this isn't his best role in spite of his rather deranged & some would say "hammy" performance. He certainly convinces us that he is losing his marbles with that trademark grin of his but it all happens a little too early in the story. In addition the film either focuses on his gradual dementia or the spooky goings on within the hotel itself. Very little development time is given to the supporting characters.
Little Danny has psychic powers but the story never exploits this rather amazing "6th sense". Instead we just see Danny riding around the floors on his bike looking suitably scared & witnessing ghostly apparitions while wagging his finger at everyone.
Shelly Duvell fails quite unilaterally as Jack's wimpy wife. No wonder Kubrick made her shoot one particular scene over 120 times. Her physical demeanour, body language and facial expressions just don't add up to the kind of character Kubrick had in mind. Duvell totally misreads what is asked and is utterly consumed by the overpowering presence of Nicholson's Torrance which makes the film unbalanced and a trifle goofy.
In addition, Scatman Crothers, just like Danny, shuffles in & out of the film either looking spooked or concerned for the young boy since they both have the same psychic talent, which again isn't explored in the film. And his cheap demise is really nothing more than a metaphor for Kubrick not knowing how to properly develop the character, so instead he just kills him for no coherent reason.
But Kubrick does a good job with the scenery and the interior sets, which certainly offers a lot of depth to the ghostly story but all this is rather secondary to what is going in Jack's mind, which is never fully underwritten. Instead Kubrick has to rely on physical set pieces to emphasize Torrance's mental state by using either the maze, room 237, the axe through the door etc.
It is truly a scary movie first time round. But after repeated viewings you feel you want to look deeper into the characters. But you find there is very little there to wonder how these people got together in the first place since they're all so individualistic & one dimensional with their own little character traits which are never explored.
The Shining doesn't shine that brightly in my opinion. The book is better sure, but it's not really worth comparing the two because that would miss the point. The movie is good, if slightly hyped because its basically a Kubrick/Nicholson star vehicle.
I would recommend it because there is plenty to see and think about. It's just a shame the Kubrick didn't spend a little more time fleshing out the supporting characters rather than concentrating on Nicholson's diminishing view of the world about him.
***/*****