Plot: Based on the novel by Stephen King, this terrifying thriller follows widow Lisey Landon (Julianne Moore) as a series of disturbing events revives memories of her marriage to author Scott Landon (Clive Owen) and the darkness that plagued him.
Review: Stephen King movies tend to come in two flavors: amazing or awful. Since his name became synonymous with popular fiction in 1974 with Carrie, King's writing has steadily been adapted for the big screen and small. From classic films like The Shawshank Redemption, Misery, The Shining, Stand By Me, and The Green Mile to forgettable efforts like Maximum Overdrive, The Dark Tower, Cell, and Children of the Corn, King movies have tended to condense material whereas miniseries like The Stand, The Tommyknockers, and It have been faithful to the author's sprawling page counts. Lisey's Story is an interesting novel in that it is not nearly as epic as some of King's work but is worth the additional running time to explore the complex layers of the story. The result is a limited series that earns a spot alongside the best adaptations of any Stephen King novel.
Lisey's Story is a personal one for King as it germinated from experiences he had after his near-death accident in 1999. Using that along with inspiration from his fifty-year marriage to his wife, Lisey's Story is a lyrical, surreal, haunting, and emotional journey through grief. It also tackles mental illness through the lens of supernatural abilities along with some stalwart King themes including obsessive fans and connections to The Dark Tower. All together, Lisey's Story isn't scary in the way you would expect even if there are some truly hard-to-watch moments throughout. The challenge of Lisey's Story is that it does not hew to a conventional narrative structure and bounces around through multiple time periods and locations in a jarring manner but one that services the story as a whole.
It helps that Lisey's Story comes from a superstar team behind and in front of the camera. The eight-episode series was scripted by King himself who manages to keep the vast majority of his adaptation faithful to the novel while making some changes that improve the story. The series is directed by Pablo Larrain (A Fantastic Woman). The third production of a King property by J.J. Abrams, Lisey's Story boasts a powerhouse of acting talent led by Julianne Moore in the title role. Reunited with her Children of Men co-star Clive Owen as her husband and Jennifer Jason Leigh and Joan Allen as her sisters, this is one of the most stacked casts in recent memory. Not a single episode of this series goes by without a truly mesmerizing performance from each of these actors, especially Moore and Allen who deliver career highlight acting.
Julianne Moore has made a career out of playing strong women with multiple performances as distressed wives asserting their strength as individuals. In this story, gender does not factor into the story as much as you would think. That does not diminish the fact that this cast is led by three actresses over the age of fifty, something we don't often see in a major production. While the primary antagonists are male, this is never a man versus woman story. It just happens to showcase three female characters. At any given time, seeing these actresses on screen separately or together delivers truly memorable performances that enhance Stephen King's ethereal story into something deeply tangible.
Very few changes between King's novel and his adaptation which means there are some haunting performances here namely from Dane DeHaan and Michael Pitt. DeHaan has already proven to be talented playing villains, most recently in The Stranger. His take on Jim Dooley challenges Kathy Bates' Misery character of Annie Wilkes for the most terrifying obsessed fan. From episode to episode, DeHaan sinks deeper into the grimy and insane Dooley and does something with a pizza cutter that you will never be able to unsee. Michael Pitt, known for his intense roles on Boardwalk Empire and Hannibal, appears here in a role I won't divulge but one that I had to look twice to make sure it was him, Both actors inhabit their characters so well here that it will make you believe they are real.
Lisey's Story is a difficult story to adapt because of how surreal and dreamlike much of it is, but King and Pablo Larrain found a way to bring this series to life. At times, the shifting from flashback to dream to memory to contemporary can be confusing and a little jarring, but the series does find a rhythm that allows it to bring the tale full circle. Eight episodes are just the right amount of time to avoid this tale dragging too long. As it stands, some viewers may get lost in the cinematography by Darius Khondji (Seven, Uncut Gems) and the excellent musical score by Clark. But this is a story about getting lost in grief and the journey back to finding oneself. it is a beautiful, sad, and haunting tale and one of Stephen King's most mature adaptations.
Lisey's Story premieres on June 4th on AppleTV+.