Review: the Shining

Aesthetics of Film

Review: The Shining

The Shining tells us a story about how a ghost in a hotel ruins the life of a family. Jack Nicholson stars as Jack Torrance, the writer who completely loses himself and becomes crazy and neurotic, and he presents a great performance, as usual. The supporting cast is also great, featuring Shelley Duvall, and the major talent of little Danny boy as Danny Torrance, the child of Jack who has unusual ability to see horrific scenes in mind.

At the beginning of this film, we are leaded by the camera to an isolated snow mountain. In the surface, the isolated area and the empty hotel is a perfect spot for the horror movie. Indeed, this special arrangement suggests the untouchable super power that has been infected by human beings. The image of monster is quite important in the horror movies. The film The Shining is not focus on how terrible and scary the monster looks, but rather focusing on the atmosphere. Jack has also been a representative of the current Americans. His complex characters which mixes with anxiety of family violence, pressure on work and the obstacles of communication has made a connection with the audience. And this makes Jack believable and real that the audience has a deep interaction with the characters.

As the director said, we are capable of the greatest good and the greatest evil, and the problem is that we often can't distinguish between them. The Shining describes the puzzle that when we human facing the subconsciousness maze.