Suspenseful masterpiece

Rating: 8/10 (6 November 2004)

There are so many films that I have reviewed for the last year and a half that are such classics that there isn't a lot more to add to the mix. Another of these is a film I caught as a midnight showing at a local movie theater, 'The Shining', directed by Stanley Kubrick and adapted from Stephen King's classic novel of the same name. 'The Shining' has become such a pop culture phenomenon, parodied by everyone from Saturday Night Live to The Simpsons, that it is easy to forget to look at what a fantastic film it really is.
Set in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, 'The Shining' tells the story of a small family who are hired to take care of a large hotel/resort during the off-season. This is an ideal situation for the father, Jack (Jack Nicholson) who plans to spend the time working on his novel, his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and young son Danny (Danny Lloyd) if not for a couple of key factors. Firstly, the hotel gets snowbound in the winter, so leaving isn't an easy option. Secondly, the family has its own problems; Jack is a recovering alcoholic who has been abusive in the past, Wendy is fragile and nervous to the point of near-collapse, and Danny is a borderline schizophrenic whose alter-ego Tony manifests himself as a barking voice coming from Danny's right index finger. Oh yes, and the hotel is haunted by the spirits of guests, servants and their families who have died there in the past.
All of these factors make up a spooky story that, when coupled with Kubrick's exquisite direction and cinematography, makes for a pretty creepy little film. His use of light and color (always with the red), unconventional score (always with the jarring piano) and serious creepy imagery are as amazing as always. The flashes of the twins, even after seeing the film many times, still make me shiver, and the tracking shots following Danny as he rides around in his Big Wheel still make me cringe every time he takes a corner. What Kubrick does best with 'The Shining' however is the slow pace he makes us follow until the action story crescendos near the end. Rather than construing this as a pacing issue, this is more of a simmer, then a slow boil, and finally a boil over.
As I said earlier, this isn't a very compelling review because there has been so much said about the film that I can't possibly add anything in the way of significant interpretation and exploration in a forum this short. What I can say in testimony to this film's relevance, appeal and ultimately, longevity is that the theater I screened 'The Shining' at was packed with people, from adolescent to middle age, which I personally found pretty neat, being such a fan of Kubrick's work. 8/10
Shelly