The Shining: A Shining Example of Quality Film-making
Contains spoilers!
When you were a kid on vacation, you’d run about the hotel, not a care in the world as you hurried to whatever activity was planned for that day. You might’ve wondered: If I had this hotel to myself, how cool would that be! As much pool and jacuzzi time as you wanted! In addition, being in a hotel always seemed like a good time, for the most part, was guaranteed. The Shining would like a word, as well as wants to change your mind about that idea.
Stephen King released his third novel, The Shining, in 1977. It was later adapted into the (now famous) adaption by Stanley Kubrick, released in 1980. The film’s central cast is Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall as his wife Wendy, and Danny Lloyd as their son Danny; they are supported by Scatman Crothers as Dick Hallorann, the Overlook’s chef. The story centers around the family’s move to the isolated Overlook Hotel during the winter, where Jack will serve as the caretaker. Meanwhile, Danny, who possess a psychic ability known as “the shining”, begins to see frightening images and begins to suspect that the hotel has its evil eyes fixed on him and his abilities.
It is without a doubt that Jack Nicholson steals (thankfully doesn’t slay) each scene he’s in. As the film progresses, the viewer starts to wonder if this is the moment when he will start attacking his family with an axe.
From the opening scenes, it’s questionable right away if Jack Torrance is a sane or insane man. He listens to the story of Grady, the hotel’s previous caretaker, and the murder of his family with indifference, whereas as most people would show concern that the place they’re about to send the next six months was the site of a gruesome triple murder and suicide. Along the way, Jack dismisses Wendy’s concerns of Danny’s questions about the Donner Party as normal, claiming that it’s alright because “He saw it on the television.” The Donner Party is hardly a conversation piece for a child of Danny’s age, around seven or eight.
Despite this uncertainty, Nicholson turns in a spectacular performance as the man who tries to kill his own family, a monster wearing a familiar skin, a husband and father turning on his son and wife. His expressions of madness are expertly shown, particularly in the “Here’s Johnny!” scene.
Shelley Duvall also turns in a performance that resonates with audiences as a woman who is forced to endure her husband slipping closer and closer to madness and her son seeing frightening visions and acting strangely. Duvall gives the impression that her character has suffered physical harm from Jack’s hand, her conversation with a doctor summoned to examine Danny as an example. In this conversation, she reveals to the doctor that, after a night of drinking, Jack dislocated Danny’s arm while trying to move him away from his papers. Duvall’s Wendy, as exemplified by other victims of domestic abuse, defends Jack’s actions, attempting them to paint them as “…something you do one hundred times to a child, in the park of the street.”
Furthermore, Duvall’s screams of terror when her husband perfectly encapsulate how someone in that position would react. We find ourselves cheering “Yeah, slice that asshole’s arm!” when she attacks Jack in self-defense as he smashes down the bathroom door to try and murder her.
Danny Lloyd’s Danny (isn’t it great when your character’s name is your own first name?) is simultaneously an unnerving and adorable child. Danny has a “man that lives in his mouth,” named Tony that shows him the visions of what has transpired at the Overlook. As the Overlook grows stronger, Tony takes control of Danny, and Lloyd’s voice of telling Wendy “Danny’s not here, Mrs. Torrance,” sends shivers up my spine every time. Danny spends much of his time with Wendy, and it’s easy to see that Wendy’s need to save her child drive her, a feeling and need any parent can easily relate to.
In terms of filmmaking, credit is truly due to Stanley Kubrick for his direction. Though it’s been reported that making of the film was a living hell, the efforts were worth as we, the public, received one of the greatest horror films of all time; for me, personally, it ranks third of my favorite movies, outranked by The Godfather in the first position and the Departed in second.
Throughout the film, once the snow starts to fly and the Torrance family is trapped in their cold hell (ironic, isn’t it?), the viewer feels both the cold of the outside and the isolation the hotel’s inhabitants feel. As we view the film, we, too, wonder how we would fare isolated in a snowed-in hotel for five months. Five days, no problem. Five months, with very little contact with the outside world? Five months with the same people, day in and day out? Hard pass.
It is difficult to discuss this movie, I feel, without discussing the source material. The Jack Torrance within Stephen King’s novel and Stanley Kubrick’s are two entirely separate characters, sharing only name and struggles with alcoholism. In the novel, due to his ongoing alcoholism and temper, Jack is fired from his teaching position at a private school in Vermont, and he views the caretaker position of the Overlook as his last chance to save his family from falling apart. In the film, Jack seems more of a man that is merely asking for permission to murder his family, as if he’s a dog waiting to be taken off the leash. For this reason, it’s difficult to argue that Jack doesn’t undergo much of an arc; he simply sheds his basic humanity and finally tries to do what he’s wanted to do for an extended period.
Jack and Danny’s relationship is also built more on in the novel compared to the film, in which the two of them only share one scene together. The two are nigh inseparable, with Danny viewing Jack as his hero to the point that Wendy feels a twinge of jealousy of their relationship. In the film, Jack and Danny share one one-on-one scene together before Jack’s descent into madness, and this limitation of togetherness diminishes their relationship. It’s understandable that, in book adaptions into a film, that changes must be made, but having this relationship in the film would’ve made Jack’s descent far more tragic and terrifying.
Wendy is arguably the greatest departure in her journey from page to the silver screen. After Jack’s assault against Danny, Wendy threatens to leave him, but this protection of her son is absent in the film. As stated, Wendy seems to be a victim of domestic abuse, and this leaves her as a weaker character. At the same time, though, we find ourselves rooting for Wendy, hoping and holding our breath as we hope she escapes her captor and experiences a life of freedom with her son.Despite the clear differences between the novel and the screen adaption, Stanley Kubrick brought a masterpiece to the screen, one that has endured for decades. “Here’s Johnny!” and other scenes continue to be referenced across all forms of media, from The Simpsons to children’s films such as Finding Nemo. It’s easy to see why this is a popular film, and you’ll always catch me roaming the Overlook’s halls, proclaiming this film’s brilliance.
Cast
Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance
Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance
Danny Lloyd as Danny Torrance
Scatman Crothers as Dick Hallorann
