Saturday, December 24, 2011

Stephen King's Bag of Bones

“Compared to the dullest human being walking on the earth, the most brilliantly drawn character, in any novel, is nothing more than a bag of bones.”
-Thomas Hardy

Mike Noonan is a second rate author of thrillers who, while signing copies of his latest release, loses his wife when she is hit by a car. Learning that she was hiding her pregnancy from him, Mike retreats to their country home and, while experiencing greif and stifling writer's block, becomes involved with a troubled young single mother, and tries to unravel his wife's secret and the dark curse that seems to haunt the town. "Bag of Bones" is a made-for-TV adaptation of Stephen King's novel, and considering the baggage that comes along with this format and production cost, is a pretty entertaining excursion. Although his film adaptations may often often be glaring turkeys, King is always a top storyteller and here the story is enough to carry the film through its detractions, which includes poor acting. Although the supporting players are not up to snuff, Pierce Brosnan is quite good in the lead role, delivering a grounded performance while avoiding the usual trappings of overacting. "Bag of Bones" is not a great movie, but it moves briskly, tells a pretty good story, and offers a few chills. What more could you ask for from such a production?