With “Doctor Sleep” (2019), Mike Flanagan’s knack for blending horror and humanity is ever-present on screen. But his biggest accomplishment might’ve been the off-camera tiptoeing. He got the nod to make a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” (1980) – famously disliked by Stephen King – out of King’s 2013 book sequel.
More King than Kubrick
The film has more King than Kubrick traits, yet it’s also delicious for fans of Kubrick’s film – and long, meticulous films in general. Flanagan — who also did a strong adaptation of King’s “Gerald’s Game,” another cerebral novel – released a 3-hour director’s cut of “Doctor Sleep.” I watched it in chunks like one of his miniseries (the most recent of which is the masterful “Midnight Mass”).
“Doctor Sleep” isn’t boring; it’s slickly professional and engrossing, with lots of standout scenes. But it’s notably slow moving, and even by the end – after the final act’s direct “Shining” tie-ins provide a “wow” factor – I wondered if the film was too understated and unfocused.
“Doctor Sleep” (2019)
Director: Mike Flanagan
Writer: Mike Flanagan (screenplay), Stephen King (novel)
Stars: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran
And certainly, Flanagan doesn’t break any new ground as he adapts a book where King recycles familiar ideas. But he smoothly paves old ground, touching on death, alcoholism, loneliness and friendship with an artistic touch.
Soul vampires
A lot of the action takes place in dreamscapes, but – as in “A Nightmare on Elm Street” – people can be hurt and killed in these netherworlds, so the stakes stay high. The mythology draws from vampire lore, except these vampires prey on people’s life forces rather than blood.
Thanks to supply chain problems, they are running low on life force (which they store in magic bottles). But if they capture New England teen Abra (Kyliegh Curran), they’ll be able to feast for quite a while.
Abra has the Shining – or “the Shine” – as does the now middle-aged Danny (Ewan McGregor). McGregor is in that familiar mold of a guy who is too worn down to stand up to those in power – or even to the demands of daily life, it seems.
X-Men via King
The soul vamps are led by Rose (Rebecca Ferguson), a classic example of an adult with candy that kids are warned against. Ferguson, saying “Hi there” in an accent that sneaks through, makes for a great villain because Rose is a character first, a villain second.
An intriguing bunch surrounds her, including “Westworld’s” Zahn McClarnon as Rose’s lover and Emily Alyn Lind as Snakebite Andi, the new girl among the soul vamps.
A side backstory shows us Andi’s powers: She can make people sleep, and then she steals money from them. It’s appropriate that Emily is the sister of “The Gifted’s” Natalie Alyn Lind, because Snakebite Andi could be one of the X-Men. Were this a miniseries, Andi probably would’ve been developed more, along with the superpowers of other members.
A heartbeat is “Doctor Sleep’s” main soundtrack, emphasizing its interest in life and death – and perversions of each. It’s also an aural attempt to connect everything, because the film doesn’t have a focus. The positive side: Whether we’re following the baddies or Abra or Danny, I was into it.
Juggling new and old characters
But Flanagan has juggling to do. The main plot is Rose-versus-Abra, yet Danny is the film’s heart. I can’t help but think a better film might’ve come from zeroing in on Danny. I too often feel like Danny is watching the events, like I am.
When he does get the spotlight, McGregor embodies a man who carries childlike fears into his adult issues. We start with familiar “messy drunk” scenes. He picks up a woman in a bar then leaves her – and her overlooked infant – the next morning.
A later nightmare suggests the woman might’ve been dead, rather than sleeping, when he left her. This is one notably confusing moment in “Doctor Sleep” – and it’s an unfortunate moment to leave unclear.
Danny’s alcoholism – and how it’s the legacy of his father – is then peppered in like a spice as he travels north from Florida to escape something ephemeral. Once he’s in New England, I like his friendship with Billy (Cliff Curtis), a wonderful example of a functioning AA sponsorship.
Danny’s chats with ghost Dick Hallorann (Carl Lumbly) keep the “Shining” connection going. In his job as a hospice orderly, Danny gets the titular nickname thanks to his knack for helping people die with peace in their minds. That’s a sweet little power that I wish would’ve factored into the story, but it does paint Danny as a caring soul.
Fan service at the finish
The final-act visit to the Overlook Hotel is fan service, but Flanagan earns it as we go deeper into Danny’s haunted link to his father. The re-creation of the vast hotel – but with four decades of abandonment – is mouth-watering.
The casting of roles for flashbacks is acceptable. No one looks like Shelley Duvall, but Alex Esso’s pitch-black hair and 1980 wardrobe allows me to go with it. Casting anyone other than Nicholson as Jack seems blasphemous, so when Flanagan regular Henry Thomas came on screen I told myself “Hey, it’s Danny’s dream vision anyway.” Maybe he likes to imagine his dad as being less crazy-eyed.
By the end of “Doctor Sleep,” I felt I had gotten a hodgepodge more than a thematically tight story. I don’t think it’s as layered as Kubrick’s “The Shining,” but time will be the judge.
One thing is safe to say. There’s no controversy over whether this is a faithful adaptation. King was likely sleeping well after seeing it.
On Fridays, RFMC reviews a Stephen King book, adaptation or related work. Click here to visit our Stephen King Zone.