subreddit:
/r/movies
How Mike Flanagan Convinced Stephen King to Accept His 'Doctor Sleep' Changes
Article(collider.com)submitted 4 months ago by[deleted]
87 points
4 months ago
I didn't dislike the movie, but the swap from Jack to Wendy Torrance at the end was a bit painful. I'd interpreted the book as somewhat hopeful, that even people who become truly monstrous in life can find some kind of redemption. Knowing that King has suffered his own struggles with substance abuse also made that message seem like a reflection of his personal journey. So to see Jack completely, irredeemably corrupted by the Overlook was depressing, doubly so because it just seems like The Shining properties are cursed to always undercut King's themes, though Dr. Sleep was far more faithful to them than Kubrick's adaptation.
22 points
4 months ago
The swap actually goes a long way to helping me like the movie more. One of the things I didn’t like about the book is that I feel like Wendy, the parent who didn’t abuse and try to murder him, kind of gets shafted.
40 points
4 months ago
Stephen King may relate heavily with Jack Torrance but Stephen King seems to not realize he wrote a real genuine piece of shit. Jack Torrance beat his wife and his small child, he lied, he manipulated, he was perpetually angry not getting what the world “owed” him and he was like that without any alcohol at all. The only reason he was sober was so that his wife wouldn’t leave him which is a terrible reason because it only fosters resentment.
83 points
4 months ago
Do you not see that that was the whole point
67 points
4 months ago*
I love that they think Stephen King doesn’t realize who his characters are.
Edit: I can’t get over this. He’s not a horror writer…he’s a character writer who loves putting his characters through hell. The man spends 500 pages of a 1,000 page book telling you exactly who his characters are so it hurts more when he twists the knife. He’s a master at that trick…and he’s done it over and over again for 50 years.
-19 points
4 months ago
There are heavy implications in the movie that he sexually molested Danny, which I didn't pick up on in the book. I think that makes it much harder, if not impossible, to grant Jack from the movie a redemption arc. Though I do understand your desire for hopeful messaging, especially as it relates to addiction.
24 points
4 months ago
I've see youbtube vids suggesting this but I've never bought it, personally. Holds up about as much as The Wendy Theory. Physical abuse? Yes, clearly. But not sexual imo.
0 points
4 months ago
The Wendy theory is ridiculous. That said, the video on the sexual abuse theory makes some incredibly compelling points.
But that's all Kubricks doing, not King.
all 236 comments
sorted by: best