'The Shining'- Film Review (1-10)
'The Shining'- Film Review (1-10)
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| 'A puzzle forever unsolved?' |
For 37 years, ‘The Shining’ (1980), has persisted to both puzzle and disturb its audience with its deceptively simple plot, that often hints (but never truly confirms), a deeper meaning. A sort of ultimate truth that we, as the audience, feel (to this day), inclined to ‘uncover’ or “dig behind…to find a sub-text which is the true one” (Sontag, 1966) . Perhaps as a consequence of ‘The Completion Theory’, or in some way (observed by Sontag also) as a means of "reducing the work of art to its content and then interpreting" so to “tame the work of art. “
After all, interpretation in our current culture has taken the forefront of understanding a piece of work. Consequently making “ art manageable, comformable.”
Either
way, and for whatever reason , the codes and visual cinematography hold the idea
of a puzzle, and a need for it to be solved by it’s audience. This could be key
to Stanley Kubrick’s sense of tension, evident in the movie, but not so much by
it’s predecessing novel, by Stephen King, written 3 years earlier. In fact,
people have claimed that in explaining everything, King had in someway lost
that ‘nugget’, and arguably remained blind to his own works potential.
As Kim Newman (2012) puts it: "Kubrick had better instincts than King. What's scary is the irrational, and King always tries to explain too much."
As Kim Newman (2012) puts it: "Kubrick had better instincts than King. What's scary is the irrational, and King always tries to explain too much."
Such
incompleteness in the 1980’s adaptation, though, can lead the way for ‘interpretative
tailspins’. None of which appear to confirm a ‘true’ ending. This begs
the question as to how these impressions are created on set… and
in production. What Kubrick telling us…and is it actually possible to figure out what really
happened at the ‘Overlook’ hotel- years after the films initial release?
Everything from mise-en-scene and camera shots, to the characters and plot delivery…. All go out of their way to enhance the general, overall feel of a puzzle. The first prominent example are the characters themselves, and how they're placed in each shot.
Often a single scene can be read multiple different ways:
An example of which includes Danny's encounter with the two 'Grady Sisters', and the scene with Danny and his father. Both: ‘Play with us forever and ever’, and ‘I wish you could stay here forever, and ever!’ seem innocent enough in writing alone, but with context, and the long pauses there's undoubtable tension. Especially with Kubrick's use of music, that often comes at strange, unexpected intervals. Never is there any solid evidence as to whose right... and while jack could be responsible for Danny's injury upon visiting room 237, and the threat that seems to shadow over the Overlook hotel... it might be exact opposite, and he could be, under the control of a greater, supernatural power of the hotel itself. In which case everything he states to the barman may be true.
Additionally we have Wendy's assumption that Jack hurt his son, under the pretext of him intentionally hurting him prior to the film. Jack raging to the barman could be because he feels guilty for hurting his son... or it could be he hadn't hurt him this time round, and he feels guilt for the accident prior to them moving to the hotel. Additionally, the mum may also believe it to be an accident, but Jack could incorrectly be interpreting she’s being judgemental of him, when she’s not…. As guilt and the paranoia of the hotel alters his perception of what she’s saying.
As stated by Roger Ebert (2006), "there is always a mirror present", and it's this doubt and uncertainty is held to some degree by the use of camera. Particularly how it (arguably) darts between different points of view.
Firstly,
we meet Jack Torrance- a recovering alcoholic, husband and father who is hinted
at having history of abuse, seeking out the caretaker position at the secluded,
mountainous ‘Overlook’ hotel. Doing so, he claims, will help him find peace he
so desperately wants….
Then we
have his wife, Wendy, a ‘meek’ woman who- in the film- who appears to rely on
Jack, yet is ready to oppose him when their son’s involved, albeit, extremely
uncomfortably… and their son, Danny, who can read the family dynamics, and
seems to have a supernatural ability known as ‘The Shining’- where he has
premonitions and can see the departed (as seen by the twins, and the mysterious
entity known as ‘Tony’).
Scene’s are set out purposefully to question the reliability of these characters.Often a single scene can be read multiple different ways:
An example of which includes Danny's encounter with the two 'Grady Sisters', and the scene with Danny and his father. Both: ‘Play with us forever and ever’, and ‘I wish you could stay here forever, and ever!’ seem innocent enough in writing alone, but with context, and the long pauses there's undoubtable tension. Especially with Kubrick's use of music, that often comes at strange, unexpected intervals. Never is there any solid evidence as to whose right... and while jack could be responsible for Danny's injury upon visiting room 237, and the threat that seems to shadow over the Overlook hotel... it might be exact opposite, and he could be, under the control of a greater, supernatural power of the hotel itself. In which case everything he states to the barman may be true.
Additionally we have Wendy's assumption that Jack hurt his son, under the pretext of him intentionally hurting him prior to the film. Jack raging to the barman could be because he feels guilty for hurting his son... or it could be he hadn't hurt him this time round, and he feels guilt for the accident prior to them moving to the hotel. Additionally, the mum may also believe it to be an accident, but Jack could incorrectly be interpreting she’s being judgemental of him, when she’s not…. As guilt and the paranoia of the hotel alters his perception of what she’s saying.
The camera is also observed by Diane Johnson, (2012), to take the p.o.v of the hotel itself (see Fig. 2). In which case hinting more at the possibility of a supernatural entity/higher power being at play. She states, "In a certain sense, it's the hotel that sees the events; the hotel is the camera and the narrator."
This makes us watch as if we are the ones to have murderous intent. The long shot in particular encourage us to read into each scene. Slow zooms and changing orientation of the camera means we aren't jumping between people in conversation in natural or conventional manner (as seen in Fig. 1). Incidentally we often feel like we're looking in on these moments, as if we're spectating. There's a sense of voyeurism at play.
Both camera choices encourages the split, both in the family dynamics of the characters, and the audience themselves. This encouraged isolation drives the audience to an uncomfortable point which only revelation can relieve.
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| Fig. 1 |
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| Fig. 2 |
It's as if individual viewers end up feeling that they have "the shining", the name given to Danny's telepathic insight, which allows them – and them alone – to see what the film is "really" about.
Again, enforcing that presumed need to work out the ‘meaning’ of the film.
Additionally, both hint that for every single situation, though no extra words may be added, we often feel like there’s something bigger at play. Something quite subtle that we are being directly noted by the film itself. Another indication to 'enigma' , comes from both the conventions and symbols of puzzles themself.
As observed by Rodney Ascher ('Room 237', 2012), "It's a very entertaining film. People love to watch it – and while they're there, they have time to notice the carpet patterns and the pictures on the wall. It leaves you unbalanced – it's hard to say at what point things stop making sense."
Note in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 how recurring patterns are used to both drive the sense of inevitably in plot, and to tempt us to differ. It what makes us feel like there's available something to solve, despite no plot information being provided, and only an aesthetic sense of 'puzzles' being present.
Essentially this film appeals to that which we cannot deny. Human nature, in the form of curiosity, apophenia (human's tendency to see meaningful patterns in random data), and our natural need for completion.Everyone’s pushed into their expected extreme’s (despite not actually intending to). We see call of the void at play, as Danny heads to room 237… as Jack heads to basement… And Wendy's visit to the center of the maze… etc.
The audience themselves also experience the 'call of void', the need for completion and control. The completion principle is described as “The fundamental need, in humans, for completion and closure”. We, as the audience of a film, or a player of a game, have a tendency to read into texts, to make sense of the facts given to us by ‘The Author’.
It’s possible Kubrick is playing to this principle, unlike King who, as mentioned before by Kim Newman (2012), has the tendency to over explain everything…. While good and keeping people guessing, there is a lot missing that the audience would’ve needed to understands
Incidentally we’re never given enough pieces , and this can make everything quite disjointed.
Additionally, with the film constantly hinting at something bigger at play, it feels for the audiences almost to be a judgement on mankind. It's not the story of a little family; "they're sort of proxies in a supernatural conflict of biblical proportions.". So the audience can't help but wonder: is it a supernatural problem, or a psychological one?This intended theme of something supernatural being at play was evident in the last scene. However, a change in script (see Fig. 5) meant that this 'solution' we are encouraged to find out is missing.
Note in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 how recurring patterns are used to both drive the sense of inevitably in plot, and to tempt us to differ. It what makes us feel like there's available something to solve, despite no plot information being provided, and only an aesthetic sense of 'puzzles' being present.
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| Fig. 3 |
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| Fig. 4 |
The audience themselves also experience the 'call of void', the need for completion and control. The completion principle is described as “The fundamental need, in humans, for completion and closure”. We, as the audience of a film, or a player of a game, have a tendency to read into texts, to make sense of the facts given to us by ‘The Author’.
It’s possible Kubrick is playing to this principle, unlike King who, as mentioned before by Kim Newman (2012), has the tendency to over explain everything…. While good and keeping people guessing, there is a lot missing that the audience would’ve needed to understands
Incidentally we’re never given enough pieces , and this can make everything quite disjointed.
Additionally, with the film constantly hinting at something bigger at play, it feels for the audiences almost to be a judgement on mankind. It's not the story of a little family; "they're sort of proxies in a supernatural conflict of biblical proportions.". So the audience can't help but wonder: is it a supernatural problem, or a psychological one?This intended theme of something supernatural being at play was evident in the last scene. However, a change in script (see Fig. 5) meant that this 'solution' we are encouraged to find out is missing.
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| Fig. 5 | The Original Scripted Ending |
Which finally leads us onto the choices of the author, and the fact that in actuality, scenes and key explanations were cut out. In deleted scene, for example, Jack finds scrapbook and makes his first mistake, but without this context we are left ignorant...
We as the audience are invited to solve the 'The Shining', but the thing is the audience never have enough pieces to really work with. Is there simply no way, therefore, of understanding the truth without this content?
It’s been noted by Shelley Duvall (2003) that these vital scenes from the film, explaining the relevance of some components (i.e. the yellow ball and the fact Ullman is intended to be a participant in the hotel’s supernatural evil, acting as a conspirator in keeping its deadly secrets)... were crucial in explaining “some things that are obscure for the public" (Kubrick: The Definitive Edition' (2003)... so in that regard, the story can be considered in some regards, problematically obscure. While mystery acts as a means of anchoring audiences in, and encouraging interpretation on their part, too much obscurity and the audience will loose interest, if not shown they're onto something.
Additionally, the changing culture of entertainment provided a limited culture to encourage audiences to read obsessively into this text.
Despite not causing much of a stir in terms of plot twist and mystery, however, at the time of release... it's continued presence as a much appreciated, cult classic across into evolving culture/technology, means it may still remain a preferable puzzle for modern audiences, a good while longer.
We as the audience are invited to solve the 'The Shining', but the thing is the audience never have enough pieces to really work with. Is there simply no way, therefore, of understanding the truth without this content?
It’s been noted by Shelley Duvall (2003) that these vital scenes from the film, explaining the relevance of some components (i.e. the yellow ball and the fact Ullman is intended to be a participant in the hotel’s supernatural evil, acting as a conspirator in keeping its deadly secrets)... were crucial in explaining “some things that are obscure for the public" (Kubrick: The Definitive Edition' (2003)... so in that regard, the story can be considered in some regards, problematically obscure. While mystery acts as a means of anchoring audiences in, and encouraging interpretation on their part, too much obscurity and the audience will loose interest, if not shown they're onto something.
Additionally, the changing culture of entertainment provided a limited culture to encourage audiences to read obsessively into this text.
Despite not causing much of a stir in terms of plot twist and mystery, however, at the time of release... it's continued presence as a much appreciated, cult classic across into evolving culture/technology, means it may still remain a preferable puzzle for modern audiences, a good while longer.
References
Illustrations
Fig. 1 'The Shining' (1980), [Film Still]. Available at: http://idyllopuspress.com/idyllopus/film/images/shining/sh_ml10.jpg [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Fig. 2 'The Shining' (1980), [Film Still]. Available at: http://d2rormqr1qwzpz.cloudfront.net/photos/2013/08/16/52187-622609-shining_bike.jpg [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Fig. 3 'The Shining' (1980), [Film Still]. Available at: http://watershed.co.uk/future-producers/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/danny-loyd-original.jpg [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Fig. 4 'The Shining' (1980), [Film Still]. Available at:http://files.tested.com/photos/2015/03/09/55-73789-the-shining-maze-qzmxry-1425862411.jpg [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Fig. 5 'The Shining' (1980), [Film Still]. Available at: http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2-shining.jpg [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Videos
Fig. 3 'The Shining' (1980), [Film Still]. Available at: http://watershed.co.uk/future-producers/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/danny-loyd-original.jpg [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Fig. 4 'The Shining' (1980), [Film Still]. Available at:http://files.tested.com/photos/2015/03/09/55-73789-the-shining-maze-qzmxry-1425862411.jpg [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Fig. 5 'The Shining' (1980), [Film Still]. Available at: http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2-shining.jpg [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Videos
Darren - MUST SEE FILMS (2013), 'The Shining Film Analysis'. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyF1m8XN_Sk [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Websites
Billson, Anne (2016), 'The Shining has lost its shine - Kubrick was slumming it in a genre he despised', [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/27/stanley-kubrick-shining-stephen-king [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Bradshaw, Peter (2012), 'The Shining - review', [Online]. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/01/the-shining-review [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Ciment, Michel (2003), 'Kubrick: The Definitive Edition', [Online]. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kubrick-Definitive-Michel-Ciment/dp/0571211089 [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-shining [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Johnson, Diane, (1999), 'Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)', [Online]. Available at: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1999/04/22/stanley-kubrick-19281999/ [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Malcolm, Derek (2014), 'From the archive, 2 October 1980: Stanley Kubrick's The Shining - Review', [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/02/the-shining-stanley-kubrick-jack-nicholson-review-1980 [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Maslin, Janet (1980), 'THE SHINING', [Online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF1738E270BC4B51DFB366838B699EDE [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Ebert, Roger (2006), 'The Shining', [Online]. Available at: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-shining-1980 [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Gray, Tim (2016), ''The Shining' Anniversary: Stanley Kubrick & His Mysterious Classic', [Online]. Available at: http://variety.com/2016/film/awards/the-shining-anniversary-stanley-kubrick-stephen-king-1201763112/ [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Henderson, Eric (2007), 'The Shining', [Online]. Available at:http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-shining [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Johnson, Diane, (1999), 'Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)', [Online]. Available at: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1999/04/22/stanley-kubrick-19281999/ [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Malcolm, Derek (2014), 'From the archive, 2 October 1980: Stanley Kubrick's The Shining - Review', [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/02/the-shining-stanley-kubrick-jack-nicholson-review-1980 [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Maslin, Janet (1980), 'THE SHINING', [Online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF1738E270BC4B51DFB366838B699EDE [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Nathan, Ian (2012), 'The Shining Review', [Online]. Available at: http://www.empireonline.com/movies/shining-2/review/ [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Patterson, John (2012), 'Room 237 proves you can never get too much of The Shining', [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/oct/26/room-237-stanley-kubrick-shining [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Patterson, John (2012), 'Room 237 proves you can never get too much of The Shining', [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/oct/26/room-237-stanley-kubrick-shining [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Romney, Jonathan (2012), 'The Shining: Heeeere's... a conspiracy theory', [Online]. Available at:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-shining-heeeeres-a-conspiracy-theory-8219343.html [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-shining-heeeeres-a-conspiracy-theory-8219343.html [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Steensland, Mark (2011), 'The Shining Adapted: An Interview with Author Diane Johnson', [Online]. Available at: http://www.terrortrap.com/interviews/dianejohnson/ [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
Vlastelica, Ryan (2015), 'Is Stephen King justified in hating Kubrick's vision for The Shining?', [Online]. Available at: http://www.avclub.com/article/stephen-king-justified-hating-kubricks-vision-shin-226309 [Accessed Date: 20/04/17]
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