100 Movies before we move: #47
Emmy says:
For a novel that is 90% inside a character’s mind this film is a brilliant translation. Unfortunately, the novel made me feel real terror and I wanted that to be visible on screen. Paul showed fear and despair but I didn’t see the horror in his eyes. Apart from that the characters were fantastically realised and created a great movie. 8/10.
Jeff says:
There is a good reason why this film rates high on the list of Stephen King adaptations. Once again Rob Reiner does an excellent job of bringing King’s characters to life. King is often hard to translate, especially when there is a lot of inner monologue (like in this book), but William Goldman’s script managed to find ways to overcome that issue without resulting to voice-over. James Caan did an admirable job as the writer, but I felt that he didn’t quite have the face to show true horror – he was too ready to smirk. Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her role, and deserved it. Not as scary as the book, but that was always going to be a big ask. 9/10.