Mist, The (2007) d. Darabont, Frank (USA)
In the arc of Darabont’s screen treatments of Stephen King stories, this novella’s long-awaited cinematic incarnation falls somewhere in between the magnificence of The Shawshank Redemption and the not-badness of The Green Mile. Following a massive rainstorm, inhabitants of a small Maine village head to the local grocery store to stock up on supplies. Before their shocked eyes, they witness a strange fog enveloping their town and soon learn that there is something within the mist…something hungry.
With superbly designed CGI creatures and effects, King’s grand scale apocalyptic vision is well captured, and the scenes of mayhem – with gore and tentacles coming at the audience from all sides – work a treat. Unfortunately, the wannabe-gritty emotional scenes of mob mentality and scapegoat-seeking amongst the frightened inhabitants don’t succeed as well. While the capable performers (including Thomas Jane, Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Frances Sternhagen and Jeffrey DeMunn) do their best, these episodes often ring a bit hollow, particularly Marcia Gay Harden’s religious zealot’s rantings.
Also detracting are Darabont’s attempts to integrate jagged jump-zooms and handheld techniques to provide a more realistic and edgy tone, which, amidst the rest of the film’s lyrical pans and crane shots, simply feel forced and artificial.
However, as a big budget creature feature and loyal King adaptation, the film more than satisfies, with an ending (not in the original story) that sucker punches viewers in the best possible way.
I loved this film. Had to wait for DVD and watched the intended Balck and white version which is infinitely more unsettling. And loved the ending.
ReplyDeleteThe color version I thought did not have the same impact. IMHO. HAve been hankering to reqwatch this one.
I had heard from so many people how much they loved the b/w version, but unfortunately, it still feels very much like someone just threw the "grayscale" setting on. If it had been shot and lit like an old 50s 60s sci-fi monster movie, I think it could have been amazing.
DeleteI like it, but don't *love* it for the reasons mentioned above. Still, when it comes to King, I'll take Darabont over Mick Garris any day.
I really enjoyed this when I saw it theatrically. However, when I caught a bit of it on cable a year or so later, I really found the visual style stuff you mentioned annoying and distracting.
ReplyDeletePeople were also raving about Harden's performance, like she was going to win another Oscar. I was thinking, "Um, if there's an Oscar for 'Best Cardboard Villain with a Side of Scenery, maybe."
Delete"the wannabe-gritty emotional scenes of mob mentality and scapegoat-seeking amongst the frightened inhabitants don’t succeed as well."
ReplyDeleteSo, it's just like reading a Stephen King book, you're saying.
I really enjoyed it in the theater and just recently decided to revisit it in the B&W version. I wish they had taken more time to make it look like an old movie (increased grain and contrast, pops and crackle on the audio, maybe some lab marks on the print, etc), but I am firmly in the camp of B&W proponents.
The only thing I really had to nitpick was the fact that his entire reason for going into town was to use the phone since the lines were down at the house. I was thinking "this guy doesn't have a cell phone?" So I accepted the fact that he doesn't have a cell phone, when all of a sudden he whips one out so that he can get some light in the shipping dock!
Whoa. That's right. Did he borrow that cell from someone in the store? Oh, maannnn...
Delete