SHINE ON: a review of "Doctor Sleep"

"DOCTOR SLEEP"

Based upon the novel by Stephen King

Written For The Screen, Edited and Directed by Mike Flanagan

***1/2 (three and a half stars)

RATED R

For a film that is so effectively and eternally burned into the collective consciousnesses of movie goers, and truth be told, pop culture itself (honestly, it is one of those movies you may feel that you have seen even when you haven't due to its superior entrenchment), it would be hard pressed to find anyone, anywhere that would feel a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining" (1980), woud not only be unnecessary but otherwise, impossible. 

As for me, I am indeed one of those people. The reputation of Kubrick's iconic adaptation of the Stephen King novel profoundly preceded it as I saw the film in full many years after its original release. Yet, as an 11 year old in 1980, and one who did not care for horror films, I decidedly gave the movie an extremely wide berth at the time. But, that said, I was curious as word of the film was not exactly loudly endorsed but one that traveled through the school hallways like a dark urban legend. The twin girls. The blood. Jack Nicholson with the axe. Chants of a guttural "redrum." All of that was expressed through excited whispers and therefore, ingratiated themselves within my own imagination, which conjured the type of horrors I knew that I didn't want to see no matter how curious I was about the movie itself. 

When I would catch snippets of the film on cable television, I would find myself mesmerized by the sight and sounds of young Danny Torrance riding through the massive Overlook Hotel on his Big Wheel, a sequence so lengthy that my trance would slowly find itself being interrupted by feelings of unease, of which I would mentally challenge myself to endure until I just had to change the channel for fear of seeing the very thing I could then no longer un-see. It wasn't really until adulthood when I saw the complete film end to end and was a tad surprised at how un-scary it actually was. Although, it was a sensational film, where Kubrick's clinical aesthetics, stunning visual perspectives, gliding cinematography and unnerving film score all combined to create this bird's eye view of madness that was deeply, powerfully enveloping. 

So now, nearly 40 years later, we arrive with Mike Flanagan's "Doctor Sleep," his adaptation of the Stephen King novel, which is indeed a sequel to King's The Shining (1977) which of course, makes this film a sequel to the Stanley Kubrick classic. What once felt to be unnecessary to impossible has now proven itself to being purposeful, entertaining, provocative, skillful and deeply resonant as "Doctor Sleep" surprisingly achieves the feat of honoring the past while carving out its own macabre existence with creativity, inventiveness, meticulous attention to the details of characters, place, time and space.  It is akin to a heavy, dark dream.

Opening in 1980, shortly after the climax of the events at the Overlook Hotel, "Doctor Sleep" finds Danny Torrance (Roger Dale Floyd) and his Mother, Wendy (Alex Essoe) re-located to Florida. Danny, still plagued by nightmares and visitations from the demons of the Overlook, finds himself in a conversation with the spirit of Overlook head chef and fellow telepath Dick Hallorann (Carl Lumbly), who teaches Danny precisely how to overcome these demons by encasing them inside of a mental "lockbox," a feat which allows the boy to move forwards in his life. 

Meanwhile, and unbeknownst to Danny, a travelling cult of psychic vampires known as the True Knot and led by Rose The Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) roam the nation seeking and hunting those with psychic abilities to torture and kill them to feed upon their lifeforce known as "steam," for the purposes of extending their own malevolent life spans.  

Flashfoward to 2011, as Dan Torrance (now played by Ewan McGregor), now an alcoholic like his Father before him, and as a means to suppress his shining abilities as well as his demons, finds  himself at his personal rock bottom. Moving to New Hampshire, he is immediately befriended by Billy Freeman (Cliff Curtis), who helps Dan find room and board, becomes his AA sponsor and also helps Dan find a job as a hospital orderly, where he surreptitiously utilizes his telepathic abilities to comfort dying patients, thus earning him the nickname of "Doctor Sleep."  Back at his new home, Dan also begins to receive psychic messages via written notes upon a chalkboard wall from young Abra Stone (Dakota Hickman) and with whom he begins a correspondence. 

By 2019, with Dan fully sober and the teenaged Abra (now played by Kyleigh Curran), armed with shining abilities far stronger than his own, their worlds converge as the now starving True Knot, in desperate need of steam for survival, have become aware of Abra, placing her in immediate danger. At this stage, all of the threads converge for Dan Torrance as he must, at long last, fully confront his past in order to preserve his present and save the future.

Where Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" was intensely intimate, Mike Flanagan's "Doctor Sleep" takes a grander, more decidedly epic approach as the film covers a greater locale as well as a nearly 40 year trajectory.  That being said, Flanagan smartly refuses to over load the experience with a barrage of special effects, and overblown tonality. On the contrary, he diligently walks the cinematic tightrope of being fully inspired and reflective of Kubrick original vision while branching outwards to instill his own--no small feat indeed. I was deeply impressed with how Flanagan ensured his film adhered strictly to tone and character development, almost and often feeling more like a visual novel to lose yourself inside of due to its detail. 

For some viewers, the deliberate pacing may strike as being uneventful, plodding or taking its own sweet time to just get to things. Yet, for me, I loved this approach as Flanagan created a world where I wanted to know who these characters were, what their motivations and inner workings actually were, so when the tension does strike, there is meaning, there is weight, there is connection between story and viewer. And with "Doctor Sleep," I was intensely connected and when the callbacks to "The Shining" do arrive, they pay off in spades!

I am also aware that there may be some sense of disconnect for some viewers witnessing different actors portraying characters so entrenched into our minds via the conduits of Shelley Duvall, the late Scatman Crothers and the aforementioned Jack Nicholson from Kubrick's film. Here is another area, where I felt that what could have bee a large disadvantage worked extremely well to Mike Flanagan's gain. 

With a film that does indeed play heavily to themes of memories, inner demons and especially those as filtered through years of Dan Torrance's alcoholism, having familiar characters portrayed by people who resemble them but not quite just added to the false sense of security that memory often elicits, plus palpable sense of unease, existential confusion and dread, which Ewan McGregor embodied with subtlety, grace and the correct amount of inner turmoil in which we could still see the afflicted child inside of him.

For the world that builds and expands upon "The Shining," Mike Flanagan more than has his work cut out for him and yet, he accepts the challenge fearlessly. Working brilliantly with Cinematographer Michael Fimognari, Flanagan ensures that "Doctor Sleep" feels very much of the same cinematic universe as Kubrick's "The Shining" through its carefully composed shot compositions, moody tracking shots and Steadicam motions. Yet, where Kubrick's palate was purposefully wintry due to the setting, Flanagan instills a hazy, autumnal glow as if we are essentially viewing an especially slow burning ghost story for a Halloween night and still discovers ways to emulate and re-conceive Kubrick's vision at crucial points, thus showcasing Mike Flanagan's cinematic dexterity.

From a conceptual perspective, Flanagan also utilizes Kubrick's near chamber piece tonality, as the film floats via its shuddering, ghostly vibe, never reducing itself to jump scare cliches but rightfully explodes at the correct points with the correct intensity and turbulence. Again, think of how easy it would have been to just essentially have the greatest moments of "The Shining" re-done yet regurgitated in a standard Hollywood bombastic frenzy that is instantly cathartic, I guess, but ultimately disposable. Flanagan is a filmmaker who is clearly trusting that the audience is intelligent and more than willing to spend some time in this cinematic world, understanding the lay of the land before tightening the screws.

In achieving that feat, "Doctor Sleep" gives us a richly expansive world to explore, populated by compelling characters, most notably, Rose The Hat, who is performed deliciously by Rebecca Ferguson, clearly having a grand time inside of a character so alluringly, threateningly poisonous. There was nothing within "The Shining" that suggested that there was any other evil that existed than the ones which invaded our own souls, so to speak. With "Doctor Sleep," and its odd hippie/sideshow circus caravan of the True Knot, that palpable sense of evil and dread that lurks in the shadows of the mind now made dangerously flesh, just gave me yet one more reason to look cautiously around corners. 

And then, there is the character of Abra Stone, strongly played by Kyliegh Curran, where again, representation means everything. For how often have any of us ever seen, within any big budget Hollywood feature, the sight of a teenaged Black girl with telekinetic powers as a central figure, one of the very engines driving the story? I was pleased and refreshed for this inclusion, which also never felt to be forced due to any sense of disingenuously performed political correctness. The character, and the fullness of her arc, felt as inviting as it was organic and ultimately, essential to the film as a whole.      

Mike Flanagan's "Doctor Sleep," a film so assured, confident and exceedingly well done, is one that truly deserves your attention, the very kind that the film surprisingly did not receive during its theatrical run late last year. But now, with our theaters closed and as we are all looking for something new while ensconced at home, this film is more than worthy. 

And especially on these hot summer days and nights, it will deliver more than enough chills.