A bewildering look at cinephilia, Room 237 is a must-see for conspiracy theorists and film buffs, especially fans of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. Rodney Ascher’s documentary examines several voices giving their take on Kubrick’s 1980 classic The Shining, each one presenting their thesis on the film’s subtext.
Sound dry? It is not. In fact, it’s a refreshing slice of criticism from many scholars (or people who clearly want to be scholars) who are so intrigued by the mysterious layers within the film that they are palpably excited to go through it frame-by-frame and comb for evidence to prove their thesis. One says that the film is about Native American genocide and the iconic scene where gallons of blood pour out from an elevator shaft at the hotel’s bottom floor is a metaphor for spilled Native blood. Another believes the film is a Holocaust allegory.
One theorist says the film maps out how Kubrick was the mastermind behind another hoax, the faking of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and the director’s subsequent problems with the U.S. government. Some of the points, after a while, sound reasonable, while others are far-fetched but amusing. Instead of showing the theorists, Ascher has their voice played over clips from The Shining, capturing the moment the film fan refers to. Some even believe that the continuity errors hold special meanings (Kubrick was a known perfectionist, and so the obvious mistakes must mean something!)
Are the views credible? Not often, although they do open up a discussion about how far anyone should take a love for cinema. How much interpretation should we give to a work of art before it takes on a life of its own? Ascher keeps the argument and analysis alive, ensuring that Room 237 is not such a dull film.