King of Horror. Master of the Macabre.
Yes, these titles still aptly describe Stephen King. The hugely popular novelist has scared us silly with such classics as Carrie, The Shining and Misery–and the big screen adaptations have followed right along.
But, lately, a strange thing has been happening. The most successful King stories-turned-movies, such as The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption haven’t shown much of his classic horror touch in them at all, save maybe a really bad guy or two.
There could be a few reasons for this. Perhaps his own recent brush with death, being seriously injured after a van hit him, has softened the man–living through real-life horror could do that to just about anyone. Or it may be that King is simply tired of writing pure horror; he may have gotten it all out of his system in his younger days.
Whatever the reason, King‘s non-horror stories are making great movies. The latest non-horror novel brought to the screen is Hearts in Atlantis, directed by Scott Hicks (Shine) and starring Anthony Hopkins as Ted Brautigan, a mysterious man who inadvertently helps a young boy and his widowed mother when he moves into the apartment above them. The film is already being touted with Oscar-talk, especially with regard to Hopkins‘ performance.
Even though the book exhibits more supernatural tendencies than the movie does (particularly referencing King‘s The Dark Tower series), the story basically examines the intense relationships three kids make one summer, focusing on one, Bobby, who forms a close attachment to the elderly Brautigan.
And that’s King‘s true specialty.
No matter if we are being treated to vampires taking over a small town in Maine or prison guards bonding on death row, King paints characters. Characters we care about, root for or despise. This intricate character work combined with compelling stories, King‘s smaller, less horrific fare comes shining through on the big screen, especially in the hands of some talented directors.
So, is it time to change King‘s title? Is he now the Champion of the Character Study? Ruler of Relationships?
Naw, let’s just call him the new and improved Stephen King.
The Green Mile (1999)
King took a chance publishing this story in six-month installments. Taking a cue from early predecessors, such as Charles Dickens, King built the story piece by piece, about a group of prison guards who bond with one very special inmate on death row during the 1930s, making people wait anxiously for the next tidbit. This brilliant ploy ended up being hugely successful for all involved–and Hollywood immediately jumped on the bandwagon. The Oscar-nominated film was a masterful undertaking, stunningly capturing the novel’s magic and intensity. Written and directed by Frank Darabont, a King expert having already done The Shawshank Redemption, the film incorporates an extremely talented cast, lead by Tom Hanks.
The scene to remember: When John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) is about to be wrongly executed, guard Paul Edgecombe (Hanks) has a tough time dealing with the killing of an innocent man:
Paul: On the day of my judgement, when I stand before God, and He asks me why did I kill one of his true miracles, what am I gonna say? That it was my job? My job?
John Coffey: You tell God the Father it was a kindness you done. I know you hurtin’ and worryin’, I can feel it on you, but you oughta quit on it now. Because I want it over and done. I do. I’m tired, boss. Tired of bein’ on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain. Tired of not ever having me a buddy to be with, or tell me where we’s coming from or going to, or why. Mostly I’m tired of people being ugly to each other. I’m tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world everyday. There’s too much of it. It’s like pieces of glass in my head all the time. Can you understand?
Paul: Yes, John. I think I can.
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The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Based on King‘s short story Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, this Oscar-nominated film once again takes place in a prison during the 1940s. Writer/director Frank Darabont weaves an intimate portrayal of one man, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who is wrongly accused and sent to Shawshank prison where he manages to touch the lives of the Shawshank’s occupants, including his friend Red (Morgan Freeman). It also gives us an escape that is one of the most daring and clever prison breaks ever filmed.
The scene to remember: When Dufresne breaks into the prison control room to play an operatic aria, he changes the mood of prison life–for just a brief moment:
Red: [narrating] I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t want to know. Some things are better left unsaid. I’d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can’t expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was as if some beautiful bird had flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
Dolores Claiborne (1995)
This movie may not be considered one of the best adaptations of a King book–it may not even be considered one of King‘s best works. However, this intense story of a mother, Dolores (Kathy Bates), who makes a tough but deadly decision to protect her young daughter from her lecherous father (David Strathairn) once again gives fodder for a compelling character study, especially when the daughter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) grows up to confront her mother. Directed by Taylor Hackford, Bates puts in a tremendous performance as a King character come to life. (Of course, no one will forget her Academy Award-winning portrayal of Annie Wilkes in Misery, another King story.)
The scene to remember: The best words of advice Dolores will ever get comes from her long-time employer, Vera Donovan (Judy Parfitt), a woman who on the surface seems to be Dolores’ adversary, but in reality is her closest friend:
Vera : An accident, Dolores, can be an unhappy woman’s best friend.
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Stand By Me (1986)
This smash hit basically started the careers of director Rob Reiner and actor River Phoenix and put Castle Rock Entertainment on the map, thus starting an enduring relationship between King material and the production company (who also produced Hearts in Atlantis). Based on the novella The Body by King, the story revolves around four boyhood friends at the edge of becoming men who set out to search for the rumored body of a dead boy. Childhood friends? Sound familiar? In the hands of Reiner the young actors shine, and once again we are reminded of youth–and all the potential and wonder it brings.
The scene to remember: Just one of the scenes of boys being boys:
Gordie: Shut up!
Vern, Chris, Teddy: I don’t shut up, I grow up and when I look at you I throw up.
Gordie: And then your mother goes around the corner and she licks it up.
Voiceover by the grown-up Gordie: Finding new and preferably disgusting ways to degrade a friend’s mother was always held in high regard.
The Dead Zone (1983)
Another one of King‘s novels that has seemed to fall off the radar due to its subdued subject matter, yet it still manages to get inside your head. And the film is no different. Directed by the eclectic David Cronenberg, the plot focuses on Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) who is involved in a horrific car accident and sent into a coma for several years. When he awakes, he’s found he’s lost most of his life but has gained the ability to foresee the future–or the past, depending–simply by touching that person. What Johnny sees isn’t always pretty.
The scene to remember: Johnny trying to cope with his new life:
Johnny: “Bless me?” Do you know what God did for me? He threw an 18-wheeled truck at me and bounced me into nowhere for five years! When I woke up, my girl was gone, my job was gone, my legs are just about useless… Blessed me?! God’s been a real sport to me!
