The Shining

“A little slow tonight, isn’t it?” The Shining is 2 hours and 24 minutes of palpable suspense, breathtaking visuals, brilliant acting, ingenious directing, and beautifully crafted storytelling. When it isn’t sending shivers from your hair to your toes, it is bombarding you with some of the greatest cinematography in film history, and presenting an investing and unbelievable tale of a man who’s brief sense of isolation drives him to insanity. Except, that’s not what The Shining is at all. Kubrick managed to craft a film where nothing is what it seems, every shot, line of dialogue, facial expression, parallel, and chord struck by an instrument in the soundtrack is all necessary. On every rewatch you interpret it a different way, because there is no real explanation to The Shining, and the only man who ever knew everything about it was Kubrick himself. But, despite Stanley’s masterful directing, this film wouldn’t be as highly regarded and incredible as it is without Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson. Jack is incredible in this film, everyone knows that, but the true unsung hero is Shelley Duvall, who gives one of the most thrilling and memorable performances in the history of the medium of cinema. Her character is essentially the “happy” wife, who pretends to be happy and content, but she is terrified of her spouse and what he might to do her at any moment. The Shining is a masterpiece in every sense of the word, and you could make a serious argument for it being the greatest movie ever made.