Another nice new alternate reality to consider: A Robin Williams Shining. He can get scary, he could have pulled it off. I’m surprised King felt there wasn’t enough attention to alcoholism and the dissolution of the family–I thought it was pretty front and center. One of the classic, chilling lines from the movie is when Jack describes “accidentally” hurting Danny as “a momentary loss of muscular coordination, all right?” I’m also surprised to hear that people criticized Shelly Duvall’s performance–I thought it was, again, classic.
I can’t stop imagining Robin Williams as Jack Torrance. I agree 100% that he could have pulled it off, and it would have been amazing. What I wonder about, though, is how it might have affected the rest of his career? Would we be able to laugh at Mrs. Doubtfire if we associated Williams with an axe wielding psychopath? Also, yes, you wouldn’t believe how much shit Duvall gets. Here’s my friend Jaime’s opinion, for example: “Duvall’s character is so whiny and nuetured that you don’t really care for her.” But it isn’t easy to portray that kind of vulnerability. Yes, her character was sometimes annoying, but that adds to the trapped, claustrophobic elements of the film: Not only are you trapped by snow, you’re trapped with a emotional wreck!