Film School Rejects: ROOM 237

Here's another review of Room 237, this one by one of my favorites -- Film School Rejects.  (Maybe I just like the name, Film School Rejects.  That's  great!)

Actually, I'm getting tired of reading reviews for a film that doesn't seem readily available.  They might as well be reviewing government documents from area  51 -- I don't have access to any of it.

Landon Palmer writes, "But Room 237 isn’t about them, nor is it about “expertise” in any institutional or formal sense. It’s not about the history of the film’s production, nor even the historical Kubrick’s intentions."

So what is it about? You can read the article -- the bottom line is that the movie is about obsession.  But, we knew that, right?   I mean, some of these people think Kubrick directed a fake moon landing and exposed it via The Shining.  Now, I think I would struggle to believe people could actually think that's true.  They might say it, but it seems unlikely that they would actually believe it in their heart of hearts.  However, I've known enough people to know that people can actually believe interesting stuff.  Moon landings hidden in The Shining. . . that's  the kind of stuff that makes you want to say to the person, "Come on!  You know that's not true!"  Pause.  "I mean, you do know that, right?  You do know you're just making this stuff up."  Pause.  "I mean, in your core, you know that's not true -- right?"

Palmer offers that the downside of the film is, "As a movie 'about' The Shining, it leaves a great deal wanting, so it’s better to see it as a quilt of fans’ diverse, colorful, and harried engagements with the film.

The film is given a B (same grade Roger Moore gave it).