The review contains spoilers.
At the end of the novel “Doctor Sleep”, the sequel to the bestseller “The Shining”, the grown-up Danny Torrance and his father Jack, now a ghost, wave to each other one last time. Peace to the family! This was also important to the author of the story, Stephen King. Especially for personal reasons. The story of the unsuccessful writer and bored janitor, but above all the alcoholic Jack, was also his own, early, before his breakthrough as an author. Although King never went into biographical detail, he did hint that he might have treated his children badly when he was drunk, and not just psychologically. It is all the more important that he not only gives the traumatized Danny, 36 years later, but also the dead patriarch in the novel the chance for reconciliation.
“Doctor Sleep” – the review:
Jack Torrance also appears in Mike Flanagan’s “Doctor Sleep” film adaptation, but in a completely different role. He takes on the position of bartender Lloyd in the disused Overlook Hotel and tries to persuade his son, a recovering alcoholic, to have a drink. He speaks down to him from above, and his words leave no room for interpretation: Danny is nothing, not a man – he should surrender to his demons. Jack “Here’s Johnny!” So Torrance is still possessed by the spirits of the Overlook, even in the afterlife. Jack remains a driven alcoholic. And so Stephen King remains a driven alcoholic.
It’s amazing that King was enthusiastic about this interpretation of the novel in PR appearances he made with the “Doctor Sleep” team. For him, his book “Doctor Sleep” was above all an expression of the fact that everyone should get a second chance, no matter how destructive or self-destructive their actions were. Of course, King was interested in his own second chance. But what does Danny think about in his last seconds in this world? To his mother, Wendy. She gives him peace. Jack no longer plays a role; he was the non-father who needed to be eliminated.
But the relationship with Wendy Torrance was never the problem, not in “The Shining” or here. Mother and son were united against the father until the end. It’s unclear what this film is trying to achieve: that Danny always fought for Wendy’s approval?
It’s strange how Stephen King flirted for years with the fact that he was offended by Stanley Kubrick’s “Shining” version, which some consider to be the most brilliant director of all time and “Shining” the best horror film of all time. The feud between the then young author and the established filmmaker has almost become legendary. Kubrick showed Jack Torrance as exactly the man that King’s praised Mike Flanagan now portrays: It wasn’t the drug that slowly changed him – the ghosts of the Overlook did it in fast motion.
As a writer, Stephen King, 72, may have his best years behind him, but as a pop culture figure he is more sought after than ever: If the current books could no longer provide material for the cinema, at least the remake machine is running (“Pet Sematary”, “Carrie”, “It”) are in full swing, and the multi-part series (“Mr. Mercedes”, “The Attack”) are landing in prominent places on television. What is striking is that he now really likes every implementation. He’s constantly giving thumbs ups on Twitter. And when he doesn’t like a film, like the “Dark Tower” adaptation, he’s noticeably quiet. When was the last time he raged that his materials were being abused?
In the novel, Stephen King resisted the temptation to revive many of the “Shining” elements that had become part of film history thanks to Stanley Kubrick’s version: the hotel, the snow, the ax, the twins (but of all things, the bear is missing!). The fact that director Flanagan is now starting the whole armada again is not necessarily a sign of good confidence in the sequel’s source material. No wonder that the only new antagonist, a witch in a hat, pales next to these “classic monsters”.
The novel “Doctor Sleep” made clear the focus that King wanted to focus on: that the gift of the “shining” means responsibility for those who survive and want to do good. There’s no need to make such a fuss about the embarrassing German title of the film, “Doctor Sleeps Awakening” – Danny doesn’t have to wake up, rather this “doctor” helps his patients not to be afraid of death and to “fall asleep” gently . It’s just a stupid title, the “awakening” is a clumsy trigger attempt to lure people to the cinema, superhero touch titles, The Rise of Doctor Sleep, etc.
It’s much more unfortunate that the “Doctor Sleep” film didn’t end with Danny continuing to support the terminally ill patients in the nursing home.