06-27-2015, 03:59 PM
Room 237 - I've had many people recommend this film to me. In fairness, i'd have to say that most people recommended to to me saying that it was about theories surrounding The Shining but that most of them are far fetched, at best. But that it was a film about theories of the Shining. That's not what room 237 is about. Room 237 is about - as the shining is on its most superficial level - man's descent into obsession and madness. Almost everyone who gives their views in Room 237 is a self-important conspiracy theorist. All of them talk about Kubrick's genius and they think they're the only ones who understand Kubrick - how fucking conceited.
The level of obsession and straw grasping and ability to ignore inconvenient truths or simply to pretend that things that don't matter actually matter displayed by these people is startling. I don't see the film maker passing judgement on the quality of the theories, but his presentation of the theories says that he's contrasting Jack and people obsessed with the film. From that point of view it's a brilliant film. If it's just a film about the theories then it's nearly un-watchable.
The level of obsession and straw grasping and ability to ignore inconvenient truths or simply to pretend that things that don't matter actually matter displayed by these people is startling. I don't see the film maker passing judgement on the quality of the theories, but his presentation of the theories says that he's contrasting Jack and people obsessed with the film. From that point of view it's a brilliant film. If it's just a film about the theories then it's nearly un-watchable.