The Written Word in Cinema

Not long ago, the movie Secret Window (a creepy tale based on a Stephen King novel) came up in conversation. A movie about a writer. Then a few other movies about writers popped into my mind: The Shining, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Misery, Sinister, 1408, and Stand By Me. Then I thought of Rum Diary and the Before trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight).

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"

- Jack Nicholson in the horror classic The Shining

And more: Adaptation, The Ghost Writer, Barton Fink, Midnight in Paris, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Almost Famous, Naked Lunch, Romancing the Stone, In the Mouth of Madness, Annie Hall, Sunset Boulevard, The World According to Garp, Sideways, and The Squid and the Whale. 

Those are just the ones I've seen... that I can think of off the top of my head (and with just a little jogging of the memory with a quick Google search). At least the movies I've noted here seem to be essential viewing... I guess I've mentioned some of the best ones out there. 

When these film titles first started flooding into my mind, I realized they were all horror movies.. several based on the written works of none other than Stephen King, who loved to write pseudo-autobiographical stories. But when I began to exhaust that genre, other - non-horror - flicks came to me.

Johnny Depp as the desperate and addictive writer in Rum Diary

- a bit of a disappointment actually; Hunter S. Thompson's book was far better.

Capote is a modern classic, I've heard, often mentioned in Top 10 lists, that qualifies for this category... but I still need to see it. Maybe I'll make the effort very soon. Same goes for Ruby Sparks and Wonder Boys, all highly acclaimed and yet they have been in my blind spot for far too long. 

There's definitely something appealing about the character of a writer and his or her personal issues and adventures. The writer is often (almost always) carrying some sort of burden or baggage and is struggling with their latest written effort. Even if the viewer can't relate to the writer's job and creative process, there is the inevitable suffering and anguish that goes with the profession... at least as far as these cinematic stories are concerned.

I suppose it is the investigative spark that ignites when these film writers are faced with strange or adverse circumstances. They apply their research abilities and natural curiosity to the problem at hand, and that is the most entertaining part of these movies. Seeing someone rather average addressing whatever obstacle stands in their way. Handling the problem poorly usually, at least at first, stumbling in a very human way, then gaining a foothold as facts present themselves. Now this idea of mine may apply to only some of these "writer movies", but I think it covers a fair number of them. Especially since so many of them contain mysteries to be solved. Riddles to be untwisted. Very fun and intriguing stuff. Edge of your seat viewing, to be sure. 

Now I seem to have opened a can of worms... and I really want to check out some of these films... either to re-watch favourites or to explore uncharted territory. Wish me luck...