Gerald's Game (2017)

Ten out of ten. Other viewers can complain all they want about this film being 'tedious' or 'bland', or slightly missing the mark or opportunity, but I strongly disagree. Makes me wonder if they got the true point of the novel, even. Stephen King is NOT a horror writer, so much as he is a writer of characters and extraordinary events that they go through, and most importantly, he writes about the deep emotional experiences that people endure in their lifetimes here on this earth. He tends to throw in dark elements, to be certain, and some of those are downright creepy, frightening, or straight-up horrific; this does not make him a horror writer. And anyone expecting a horror film here will subsequently be disappointed and, I guess, apparently bored. I was not bored, I was riveted the entire time. It's not easy to do what Mike Flanagan does with this adaptation. He nails the mental struggles and fractured psyche of the main character, Jessie, under the strain of what she faces. He also delivers on the heart of King's story, which isn't the present situation she finds herself in as an adult, but rather, dealing with secrets and ghosts from her past that have haunted her all her life, without her truly even knowing 'til her current situation arises. It's a beautiful novel of pain, suffering, secrets, abuse (on multiple levels, by multiple people), and the struggle to not just survive, but also heal and thrive, if possible. Flanagan's film captures the heart of King's story, and it is beautifully rendered, and many scenes are equally visually stunning. I cried at the end of the movie. Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gugino turn in excellent performances, among the best I've seen from both of them. Henry Thomas is equally and fittingly gross. Very well done. Even younger Jessie, played by Chiara Aurelia, was exacted with nuanced grace and heartbreak. This is just a terrific movie. And I find every scene featuring Carel Struycken to be extremely creepy, so I'm not certain how other reviewers find this movie lacking in creep value. I just can't disagree more. I love this movie, it's instantly and already in my top fifteen, maybe even my top ten favorite films of all time. Well done. I'll be watching this one more than once.