movie review - The Shining
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
This is the story of a family of three who agree to take up the care of an isolated hotel in the mountains during the off season. The husband is a writer who is struggling with a seemingly endless novel project, and the small boy in the family is depicted as having supernatural powers. He is able to tap into a second personality who speaks to him through his own mouth. It comes across like the boy is cracked, but as the story develops we learn that there's actually someone there and not just someone but a network of similar people. One of them even tries to intervene from the other side of the country by turning up mid-movie. The mother seems to realize that something is off from the moment they set foot in the place, but if anything the father embraces the madness in the hotel and steadily succumbs.
I watched this again recently after a friend explained a conspiracy theory that this movie is an apology by Stanley Kubrick for deceiving the world by faking the moon landing. I have to say, this movie is quite a bit better than I'd remembered. Yes, it's a horror movie with lots of memorable visceral scenes. But I do think there's more to it. The characters have actual depth, the acting is terrific, and the tone and pacing are .. perfect. You know that things are going to go badly pretty much from the outset, but it's the road to the finale that keeps you glued to it.
Strongly recommended.