Keep on Shining!

Kaleidoscope's latest is on Warner Bros. & Vertigo Entertainment's production of "Doctor Sleep".. Directed, written, & edited by Mike Flanagan, the movie stars Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Cliff Curtis, & Zach McClarnon.  Rated "R", it has a running time of 2 hr., 32 min.

The film's exposition details Danny Torrence (McGregor) & his mother Wendy now living in Florida in 1980 (coincidentally, the year that "The Shining" was released) after the tumultuous events that they lived through at the Overlook Hotel.  Danny is haunted by his memories at the hotel, including the rotting woman in room 237.  With his ability called 'the shining', little Danny is able to converse with the ghost of Dick Halloran, the man from the original film who taught Danny about his 'shining' ability.  Dick explains to Danny that he can lock away other ghosts with the 'shining' in imaginary coffin-like boxes in his mind.  Concurrently, a group of vampire-like creatures, who are quasi-immortal, which calls itself the 'True Knot', led by Rose the Hat (Ferguson), feed on the steam which is produced during the dying moments of those who have the 'shining'; inhalation of the steam allows the members of the True Knot to slow their aging process.  This is depicted when Rose seduces a young child who has wandered from her parents.  Transition to 2011, & an adult Danny, who is suffering from a type of PTSD from his experiences at the Overlook 31 years ago, has become an alcoholic in an effort to stifle his 'shining' ability.  In a further effort at restraining, Danny moves to a small town where he is befriended by a man named Billy Freeman (Curtis); Freeman sees a kindred spirit in Danny since Billy is a recovering alcoholic.  Billy gets Danny a job as an orderly at a hospice; here, Danny uses his 'shining' to comfort dying patients.  It is here that the patients give Danny the name, Doctor Sleep.  Concurrently, Danny begins to receive telepathic communications from a teenage girl named Abra (Curran).  Act I slows to an end here, setting the stage for II and III.  

Director, writer, & editor Flanagan has crafted a very literary film in this 39-years later sequel to Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's "The Shining".  While Flanagan has attempted to mimic the style of Kubrick in the many scenes, he has overlooked (no pun intended) 2 key areas:  1) whereas Kubrick's 2 hr., 26 min opus seemed much, much shorter because of the dynamics of his presentation, this film's almost equal length feels almost twice as long.  One can take a more leisurely pace in a novel, i.e., many of King's novels.  2) a main character of Kubrick's film is the Overlook; it is a living figure.  Flanagan waits until the final reel to locate the action there; the film revitalizes here, but it is much too late.  Yes there are occasional flashbacks to the Overlook, but the main setting should have been centered there.  Additionally, the screenplay, adapted from King's 2013 novel, is, in many ways, very similar to Justin Cronin's 2010 apocalyptic novel "The Passage" in 2 key areas: 1) the vampire-like creatures of the True Knot echo the vampire-like creatures that populate the post-apocalyptic world of "The Passage"  and 2) the character of Abra is eerily reminiscent of telepathic main character, young Amy, of "the Passage".  I'm just saying.  McGregor is excellent as an adult Danny.  He superbly portrays all of the strengths, weaknesses, coping, &, ultimate resolve of the character.  Curran is an excellent complement to McGregor.  She skillfully captures a teenager who is forced to behave beyond her years & find the strength in her powers.  Ferguson is alternately cool & impassioned as a leader who is trying to save her 'family' despite the cruelty & death that it brings to others who either become her food or become her adversary.  Curtis is a fine friend, a role that he has done in countless films & TV shows, including his great turn in the first 3 seasons of AMC's "Fear the Walking Dead".  Look for cameos by Henry Thomas and an uncredited superb young actor who is very popular since his star making role in 2015.  Michael Fimognari's cinematography is expertly atmospheric & moody.  The Newton Brothers's score is excellent and echoes the themes & motifs of Wendy Carlos's & Rachel Elkind's score from Kubrick's original.

I give "Doctor Sleep" 7 out of 10 nuggets.  If you have not seen "The Shining", I give it 6 nuggets; there are many references that one needs to recognize in order to fully appreciate the current film.  If you are a King fan & know the 1980 movie, you might want to see "Sleep" theatrically.  If you are not, wait until streaming, HBO, or FX.