This is one of those ‘writing notes while watching and then cobbling it all together the day after’ reviews, I kinda like to do this once in a while ‘cos it gets the whole experience down even if no one but me quite follows it :-p

I might not have been so anxious (and I say that even while realising it still took me 3 years to see it, lol) to see this movie had it not starred Angela Bettis and had I not enjoyed the TV version of Stephen King’s The Shining (which I never got round to reviewing – in short, aside from the stupidly corny ending, I thought it was an interesting variation, though of course Kubrick’s is the version of that story to experience). While watching the opening credits, my heart entered the proceedings even more when I realised Patricia Clarkson (Pieces of April) was going to be playing Carrie’s mother. And of course, the 1976 version of this novel is one of my favourite movies of all time.

My first impression was that the film makers were quite wisely sticking to some of the same decisions as Brian De Palma made for his version – like, how many ways can you shoot the shower scene, for example? But as the movie went on I realised they were sticking to that movie just a little too much. I’ve read the novel but I forget exactly how it differs from the 76 movie. This TV version feels like it’s trying to be more faithful to the novel, but structure-wise it’s almost identical to the first adaptation, leaving only one question, and that’s why it feels so simultaneously long and rushed?

In addition to changing a few details, including a whole backstory that makes no sense with Carrie as a child (terrible visual effects showing a kind of meteor shower on the White household which surely the townsfolk would’ve remembered and maybe mentioned in their talking about her? or was it all in her head? it isn’t said), the film makers also delight in updating the whole thing. Carrie turns to the internet to research her power, cellphones are used a lot, and there are stellar lines like, “It’s the second ballot, I call it ballot 2.0,” and, “This is far from over! This isn’t even in the same area code as over!!” and worst of all, a whole comparison of the whole, “take Carrie to the prom,” idea to the movie She’s All That (I’m not making this up).

Don’t get me wrong, some of the kooky additions to the De Palma version work – two moments in particular really got me choked up, like Sue Snell telling Carrie while she’s trying for the first time to put lipstick on, “You have trouble colouring inside the lines,” and another moment of someone flicking through Carrie’s highschool yearbook, all the signature pages empty. There’s a neat reference to the Pygmalion story (Pygmalion – pig’s blood – I liked it anyway, lol), and some really funny stuff too (“I love your dress, where’d you get it?” “I made it.” “Shut up!” “You shut up.” – okay that doesn’t work without Bettis’ delivery). Carrie gets stressed waiting for her prom date to arrive and various bits of furniture etc start flying in mid-air; when he rings the doorbell, everything falls down – “So, did your ceiling just, like, collapse or something?” And again it’s Bettis’ delivery that makes her reply crack me up so much, “Yes. Yes. My ceiling just collapsed.”

I’d watch this again for Angela Bettis. I really hate when people say actors are brave, but I’ve gotta say, Bettis really is it if anyone is, and that’s just between Girl, Interrupted, May and this. She exposes something on screen that totally shakes me up. For me she’s definitely a better Carrie than Sissy Spacek was. It’s a shame the same can’t be said for Patricia Clarkson as her mother. She’s a great actress always, but I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to be better than Piper Laurie’s insanely creepy performance in 1976.

Katherine Isabelle (*Ginger Snaps*) also stars as one of the mean girls setting up the whole sadistic finale. She’s disturbingly infectious, you get a hint at the glee these stunts give to bullies, but also in her eyes you see that total emptiness that completely indicates the mindset of these people. At the same time this movie does give the occasional glance at the regret and hesitation that more often than not goes hand in hand with cruelty, however little it serves to excuse the resulting pain. Ouch, I hate when I hit my own nerves, this story brings something out of me and it’s one, like “Wuthering Heights” or “Lolita”, that I’d be happy for anyone to remake and remake ad infinatum.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 20th, 2005 at 7:36 pm in 3 hearts, Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.