Small shout out to Ms. Duvall

Rating: Null/10 (26 July 2008)

Here's a plug - as I've not found one in any other review - for Shelley Duvall's portrayal of Wendy.
She's a pathetic figure, utterly overwhelmed by the mounting problems she faces from all sides - including the man supposed to be her protector. She squeals, snivels and screams - and yet somehow comes through, driven by her maternal instinct to protect her son even at her own risk.
She and Danny are ultimately saved by the bravery of Halloran and the Sno-Cat he brings to the hotel; and by Danny's cunning in the kitchen and the maze. But also by her own efforts: reviled, outsmarted, unloved and unlovely, she nevertheless battles her terror, Jacks homicidal rage and the hotel's resident evil to rescue them both.
Other reviewers have described her character as an Olive Oyl lookalike. Wendy is not a glamorous character: her lank hair, unmade face and utilitarian clothing don't attract. Her whining dependency and weak, useless passivity in the face of Jack's anger do nothing to endear her. It's hard not to have some sympathy with Jack.
And yet, when forced to the brink, Wendy handles the business: the lucky blow she lands on Jack with the bat puts him out of action long enough to lock him in the only truly secure room available. Only the direct intervention of the hotel ghosts brings Jack back into play. In the bathroom she cuts him badly enough to delay his axe attack until he's distracted by Halloran. She has the sense to go for the Sno-Cat, and the fortitude to wait for Danny to emerge from the maze before she flees. Weaker than Jack, and much less smart than Danny, she's nevertheless the instrument of her own deliverance. Well done, that ratbag!
One other small note: if you're a writer who cares about his creations, *don't* sell your film rights to Kubrick (something that's become easier recently). He will take your core idea and make his own film out of it - and you won't like the result, not least because it will be a better creation than yours. I only wish he'd lived long enough to make his version of AI before it was turned to pap by that wretch Spielberg.
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