Review: "Lisey's Story"

Stephen King is well known for his stories and scaring readers all around, but his adaptations for the big screen and television have been rather hit or miss. Enter Lisey's Story, a small screen adaptation from his 2006 novel of the same name that focuses on a widow that endures a series of resurgent memories from her marriage to famed author Scott Landon, including memories that she had long locked away. The book itself was very well received but the miniseries here is very hit or miss fitting alongside that of many other dramatic adaptations that King has seen before.

The plot follows Lisa "Lisey" Landon (, the widow of a famous fiction author in Scott Landon who had died two years before the start of the miniseries. Despite the time passage, Lisey is still mourning the loss of her loved one while also fending off parties that are looking to obtain Scott's unpublished manuscripts. While dealing with her grief and her late husband's editor who is pushing for his unpublished work, she begins sorting through Scott's old possessions and discovers that he had left her a treasure hunt of sort which forces her to revisit memories of their marriage and more importantly memories that she had suppressed. In the process, she is now under the watchful eye of a dangerous stalker, Dooley (Dane Dehaan), who believes that she is selfishly keeping the great genius of Scott Landon and his voice away from the world and envisioning himself as a divine prophet of Scott Landon.

The premise of course evokes a lot of emotions from viewers of grief, mourning for a loved one and moving on. Julianne Moore and Clive Owen are both terrific in their roles, but the issue with this serious is how painfully slow it moves. It is so slow in fact that it almost feels as if it is a punishment as you continue to watch hoping that things pick up and or become more interesting. Despite the horrible pacing, the actors really do a good job of keeping you invested and want to see where the story ends. The big draw would be that of the tranquil world beyond memory, referred to as Boo-Ya Moon. It is rendered beautifully in stark blues and oranges and filled with empty faces, leaving the audience to believe that they are lost souls, much like our main character Lisey in her grief. They are set watching life, and not partaking it. We even find Lisey's sister Amanda (Joan Allen) who has a history of mental illness, much like Lisey's husband, stuck in Boo-Ya Moon after another episode. Much like the audience, Amanda is stuck watching the same events play out over and over again.

The villain of the story is perpetual grief that has overtaken Lisey's life making her a ghost of her former self, but the other more present threat would be Jim Dooley played by Dane Dehaan who is simply terrifying in this miniseries. He feels as if he is Scott Landon's avenger and his sole purpose in life is to make sure all will be able to hear the genius words of his favorite author. His "relationship" to Scott is nonexistent but he feels as if the author is his father and he is the only rightful heir to the throne. He has a terrifying presence in every scene he is in as he has steely blue eyes that look as if they are peering right through everyone he meets giving everyone an unsettled feeling. It is only until he comes across Lisey who is deliberately keeping Scott's unpublished work from the world that his rage is unleashed in a horrifying manner.

Scott's memories of his childhood is another standout in this series as he deals with his ability to traverse between the real world and the fantastical Boo-Ya Moon much to the knowledge of his crazed father, Andrew Landon played beautifully by Michael Pitt. Scott had to endure plenty of trauma by the hands of his father and the scares of Boo-Ya Moon which then informed his writing years later. The true delight of these films in reality is again Michael Pitt as the eccentric and equally crazed Andrew Landon who feels that it is his duty to ready his two children for the horrors of both worlds.

All of the story beats are interesting but again, the manner in which director Pablo Larrain and writer Stephen King decide to stick with the same few memories over and over just becomes incredibly boring. It's theme of grief and mourning is ham-fisted and overly drawn out but again, the powerful performances warrant at least for audiences to give it a try but I suspect that the miniseries will be wildly divisive both among casual watchers and avid Stephen King fans alike.