Room 237
Directed by: Rodney
Ascher
Stanley Kubrick is one of the all time great filmmakers. His
films, 2001: Space Odyssey and the
subject of analysis here The Shining,
regarded as works of art. In Room 237 viewer interpretations are
taken to such extremes that in reference to any other filmmaker besides Kubrick
some of the theories passed in this film would be deemed preposterous without
hesitation. However, because the focus is on such an esteemed auteur, you’ll
find yourself for a moment nodding in concurrence as if the veil covering your eyes
were suddenly pulled. Room 237 is an
example of art being seen from the eye of the beholder.
Interpretation is an open book and the introduction of Room 237 displays those many chapters in
the form of the proposed theories of explanation. Rodney Ashcer directs in the
shadows, offering a stream of ideas without much interaction with the different
speakers. Ashcer regards everything as fact and moves indulgently between ideas
throughout the course of the documentary. It’s an interesting perspective to watch the
dissection of such an identifiable film from the askew analysis of someone
else. Whether it’s the posters in the
background, editing transitions, product placement, sense of direction, and
even numerology everything in The Shining
is under magnified scrutiny. All
these viewpoints are composed from unseen voices and displayed through a
mash-up of Kubrick’s filmography, as well as other films like Bava’s Demons 2, and archived news clips and
behind the scenes footage. These all work in mingling theory atop coincidence
and back and forth; it works as a codependency for the interviewee’s sometimes clever
and other times outlandish concepts.
There is a notion that nearly every person interviewed
maintains which is that when they first viewed the film much was disregarded.
When The Shining was released
numerous critics paned the film, most thinking that the journey to the genre of
the horror was a mistake for the beloved Kubrick. The emergence of VHS serving
as a catalyst for reanalysis brought viewers back to the film thus embedding
the film in the honored pantheon of horror. The ability to rewind and rewatch
the intricacies engrained in dialog, set design, and camera framing is partly
the reason why a film like this even exists. Ashcer understands that idea and paints a
portrait of perspective by viewing scenes repeatedly and in slow motion. The frame-by-frame
implementation is an adept method; it allows time for the proposed ideas to
sell themselves without feeling overly forced. In one instance ABC news
correspondent Bill Blakemore discusses how The
Shining is actually about the genocide of the Native Americans. During a
scene in which Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) is given the tour of the Overlook
Hotel Ascher pauses and focuses on a framed picture of a Native American seen
in the side frame for mere seconds, allowing Blakemore to discuss the
implementations behind the subtle display. In another illustration Ascher presents
musician John Fell Ryan’s overlapping of The
Shining in which he staged the film with one print playing from the
beginning and another playing in reverse from the end simultaneously. Seeing
what Ryan most likely happened upon by curiosity exhibits how these media
conspiracy theories, like The Wizard of
Oz/Dark Side of the Moon syncing, garner an avid group of followers and believers.
Stanley Kubrick’s influence is still strongly felt amongst
film fans today. The fact that audiences are still peering into his films with
open eyes is a sincere measurement of Kubrick’s genius. Room 237 is filled with more twists and turns than the wandering
hallways of the Overlook Hotel; and while the many theories proposed might not
make new believers out of everyone it will make you look closer at Kubrick’s
subtext motivations in The Shining.
Monte’s Rating
4.00 out 5.00
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