• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Was Shelley Duvalls performance in The Shining really that bad?

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

strafer

member
Just done watching it.

I often hear people saying that she was terrible in this, but I dunno, I thought she played her part really well.

Especially the last act when all shit hits the fan and the famous Johnny scene.

Anyway, happy halloween
 
P

Perfect Blue

Banned
What? Who said she was bad? I thought she did really well. I mean she must have, what with Kubrick driving her to the brink of insanity.
 
S

Stet

Banned
Pardon? That's like the opposite of what it was. She's terrified for almost two straight hours.
 
B

bjork

Member
I like her. I thought she was good in it, and I never saw this until earlier this year so I'm not clouded by nostalgia or whatever. I think maybe her performance wasn't as good as Reggie's, though.

1tpyz6y.gif
 
Halcyon

Halcyon

Member
I find the whining and breathy "nooo" "ghet awhwaay" while she is lashing out with the knife a little bad, but I don't particularly think it brings down the movie at all.
 
M

Maninthemirror

Banned
strafer said:
Just done watching it.

I often hear people saying that she was terrible in this, but I dunno, I thought she played her part really well.

Especially the last act when all shit hits the fan and the famous Johnny scene.

Anyway, happy halloween
Click to expand...

Considering Kubrick was very aggressive against her yes it would have been if not for Kubrick, her performance is exactly what Kubrick wanted portrayed on screen. Annoying, frightened, concerned and innocent. Kubrick was verbally very aggressive against her because he wanted to drive fear into her to exact the performance. he wanted her to act as if she was subdued
 
M

Minus_Me

Member
I think some people had their judgement clouded by how different her character is compared to the book. She's a battered housewife and has suffered as a result in the film version.
 
N

NealMcCauley

Member
She was fine. If people complained about her it was how different her character was from the book (blonde, pretty voluptuous, strong in character).
 
N

Not Spaceghost

Spaceghost
There are a few scenes where she is definitely the weakest person on screen, particularly the early scenes in the Hotel when she just arrives, the way she acts out her character feels more like she's in an episode of I love Lucy than in a kubrick movie.

She does really well in scenes where she's panicking or unsure of what's going on.

Basically for the first half she's kinda really bleh and after the scene where Jack yells at her while he's typing she's generally pretty good.
 
G

ghostjoke

Banned
Didn't Kubrick borderline mentally torture her throughout the filming to get the right effect? (at least in latter half)
 
M

Maninthemirror

Banned
Shelley Duvall’s role as Wendy Torrance in “The Shining” is certainly her most memorable, but it is also the part that nearly drove the actress over the edge. Director Stanley Kubrick, who is known for his excruciating attention to detail, reportedly nit-picked every single move Duvall made.
Remember the scene where she hits Jack Nicholson’s character with a bat? Kubrick made her do it 127 times, a feat that is rumored to have broken the record for "most retakes of a single movie scene with spoken dialogue." The stress of the movie and its ever-changing script even took a physical toll on Duvall, who lost some of her hair and became violently ill during filming. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers
Click to expand...

http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/entertainment-actorsvdirectors/5/
 
R

rude

Banned
Not Spaceghost said:
There are a few scenes where she is definitely the weakest person on screen, particularly the early scenes in the Hotel when she just arrives, the way she acts out her character feels more like she's in an episode of I love Lucy than in a kubrick movie.

She does really well in scenes where she's panicking or unsure of what's going on.

Basically for the first half she's kinda really bleh and after the scene where Jack yells at her while he's typing she's generally pretty good.
Click to expand...
Her innocence and naivety is the point of her character...her performance is great.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
Wendy is so innocent and naive that watching Jack torture her is just completely excruciating.

So no, Duvall wasn't bad. She was great.
 
I

iuxion

Member
She was great.

I remember Robert Duvall said that the performances in the movie were terrible, so maybe he has a different opinion. I personally just don't see it.
 
N

Not Spaceghost

Spaceghost
rude said:
Her innocence and naivety is the point of her character...her performance is great.
Click to expand...

I don't think her performance is bad, I just think everyone else gave better ones for the first 30-40 minutes of the movie.

There are a few scenes where she feels like she's still reading off the script without actually being in character.
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
Apparently Stephen King can't stand her character:

"one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film. She's basically just there to scream and be stupid."
 
S

Stet

Banned
teruterubozu said:
Apparently Stephen King can't stand her character:

"one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film. She's basically just there to scream and be stupid."
Click to expand...

He's just bitter that Kubrick turned a mediocre pulp horror novel into one of the best horror movies of its time.
 
T

TheJollyCorner

Member
the accent (Southern?) she'd try to put into her voice from time to time was distracting, but otherwise I think she did well.
Then again, as others have pointed out, Kubrick and Nicholson just harassed the fuck out of her.
 
T

Timeless

Member
Her performance is incredible, one of the best ever. I have heard some people say her performance is bad. It's baffling. Shelley is not like that in real life. She makes her whining innocence seem so effortless that people miss that it's a very difficult role.

Not Spaceghost said:
I don't think her performance is bad, I just think everyone else gave better ones for the first 30-40 minutes of the movie.

There are a few scenes where she feels like she's still reading off the script without actually being in character.
Click to expand...
I bet they did several takes, and kept doing new takes until Kubrick was satisfied with her reading. Everything is an act.
 
F

FairyD

Member
I thought she was great.

You know what was a terrible performance? Sofia Coppola in GodFather part 3. God damn that was a wooden performance. I honestly think that if Winona hadn't dropped out of the film it would have made the film better with her performance.
 
A

Arthr2ShdsJcksn

Banned
Kubrick got a fantastic performance from her. There's a fairly good documentary about the behind the scenes of The Shining that shows how Kubrick manipulated her (or really just emotionally drained her) on set.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
teruterubozu said:
She had the amazing horror face, but at the beginning of the movie when she's just playing regular mom, she was pretty bad.
Click to expand...

Ehh, she's just a dumb rube. I know plenty of people like Wendy. She didn't strike me as a bad or unbelievable character. Quite the opposite.

It helps you understand why Jack, who views himself as a creative intellectual, resents being married to her.

teruterubozu said:
Apparently Stephen King can't stand her character:

"one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film. She's basically just there to scream and be stupid."
Click to expand...

King hates pretty much everything about Kubrick's film.
 
W

Wilbur

Banned
I think she's clearly a poor actress and this shows in the first half of the film, but her hysteria in the second is brilliant.

Best film ever, by the way. Genuinely my favourite. Would be watching it tonight if my girlfriend could handle scary films :lol
 
P

-Pyromaniac-

Member
Since this thread exists I always had a question. Why is Jack Nicholson acting batshit insane before they even get into the hotel. Was that intentional or just jack being jack? Was he supposed to be depicted as a man teetering on the edge of sanity? Just his facial expressions and some of the things he was saying made him seem crazy. It must have been on purpose right? Otherwise I'm sure kubrick would have been like uhhh jack tone down the crazy this is the start of the movie.
 
M

Minus_Me

Member
-Pyromaniac- said:
Since this thread exists I always had a question. Why is Jack Nicholson acting batshit insane before they even get into the hotel. Was that intentional or just jack being jack? Was he supposed to be depicted as a man teetering on the edge of sanity?
Click to expand...

He's clearly an abusive husband.
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
-Pyromaniac- said:
Since this thread exists I always had a question. Why is Jack Nicholson acting batshit insane before they even get into the hotel. Was that intentional or just jack being jack? Was he supposed to be depicted as a man teetering on the edge of sanity? Just his facial expressions and some of the things he was saying made him seem crazy. It must have been on purpose right? Otherwise I'm sure kubrick would have been like uhhh jack tone down the crazy this is the start of the movie.
Click to expand...

He broke his son's arm in a rage according to the backstory when they first arrive at the hotel.
 
D

Daniel B·

Banned
Daniel B·; 135924976 said:
Talking of The Shining, given today's super believable CGI, such as The Life of Pi's amazing Tiger, this is one movie that actually warrants a big budget Hollywood remake, unlike so many others (Robocop et al), as Kubrick's adaption failed to capture the wonder of the book. on several levels (IMO, Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duval were completely miscast as the main characters and their performances overpowered the magical story)
Click to expand...

My opinion was so earthshattering that the thread was locked within around 5s of me posting ;) (embarrassingly, I mispelt Jack's surname in the original post (corrected above), who I have great respect for, but I just didn't like him or Shelley in this).
 
M

Minus_Me

Member
Daniel B·;136779418 said:
My opinion was so earthshattering that the thread was locked within around 5s of me posting ;) (embarrassingly, I mispelt Jack's surname in the original post (corrected above), who I have great respect for, but I just didn't like him or Shelley in this).
Click to expand...

Fundamentally different characters. Jack is an abuser from the get go. He's already unhinged.
 
B

bjork

Member
Daniel B·;136779418 said:
My opinion was so earthshattering that the thread was locked within around 5s of me posting ;) (embarrassingly, I mispelt Jack's surname in the original post (corrected above), who I have great respect for, but I just didn't like him or Shelley in this).
Click to expand...

I can't even imagine what a remake would be like in 2014. I don't want to.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

My family has owned a lot of pet's. I want to tell you about them
25
2K
Badlucktroll replied
LTTP : The Walking dead (all seasons/spoilers)
Spoilers
19
2K
Badlucktroll replied
LTTP: Possession(1981) aka wtf did I just watch??
2
784
Days like these... replied
Everything Everywhere All At Once joins my list as an all time favorite
30
2K
Wunray replied
So it's true that when you're grown your friends really aint shit huh?
2 3
112
6K
RavageX replied
Top Bottom