A Mistery of Violence

The second film adaptation of a Stephen King work for 2007 finally made its way to the budget theater. Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long considering it underperformed at the box office last November.

My initial reaction coming out of the film was that I enjoyed it, but I felt that what I enjoyed about it probably had more to do with King's story than with anything the film actually did. However, in investigating the differences between the film and the novella, I learned that the film decided to radically change the ending; more on that in a bit.

The premise is that a mysterious fog has rolled into a small Maine town trapping many of its citizens in a supermarket. Opinions as to what the mist is and what dangers it poses varies amongst the various townspeople. As we learn what's in the mist, the thrills and chills really get amped up. It then becomes a story of survival for all those trapped.

Most of the actors have a lot of fun with their roles and make the most of their screen time. Andre Braugher is good as a skeptical big city lawyer. I really like Toby Jones (who played Capote in that other film about his life), who plays Ollie, the supermarket's assistant manager. Marcia Gay Harden is the one who truly shines here, however, as the religious nutcase who believes the mist is a sign of the end of days.

The one anomolous acting performance, unfortunately comes from the film's lead, Thomas Jane. He plays David Drayton and leads the efforts to save everyone from whatever is out there. The film uses Drayton's relationship with his son as one of the core emotional cruxes, but I personally didn't feel that connection. For too much of the film, Drayton's action are seemingly motivated to prove that he's right moreso than to rescue his son from these potential perils. Despite that, there are several emotional scenes where Drayton is seen crying. Jane's efforts to emote though come off forced and unintentionally funny.

Speaking of things that came off more hokey than real, I was somewhat unimpressed with the film's visual effects. Without giving too much away, there are scenes that involve some monsters. Some of the smaller creatures look pretty cool and creepy, but the larger creatures have a definite B-movie feel to them.

For me, the film was at its best when it was dealing with human relationships and how people deal with scary situations. When faced with unknowns like these people are, we begin to see who the true monsters are. As the townspeople in the supermarket become divided, the film's energy really picks up. I would have gladly sacrificed one scary monster scene for some more interpersonal communication.

As much as I enjoyed those interaction, the film's cheese factor still had me leaning towards a thumbs down on this movie for most of the way, until the end came. While far from optimistic, The Mist has one of the gutsiest endings for a film that I've seen in a long time. I'm sure many did and will hate it, but I really appreciated it for being so unconventional. If I had any gripes about the finish, it would be that it could have used a little bit more explanation for why the events unfolded as they did. But I can certainly understand why the filmmakers opted not to do that. In many cases, some things are better left unsaid.

The Mist is by no means perfect, but there is a lot there for different audiences. The film does succeed in providing a number of genuinely scare moments, while will please the thrill seekers. It also provides enough interpersonal communication to appeal to a more cerebral crowd. And if you're a person that loves to debate about films after you've watched one, well then this one has an ending that will spark plenty of discussion. In the battle of the Stephen King films for 2007, I'll give this one the slight nod over 1408. However, both are decent and worthy of a rental. Grade:B+