A fan finds a hidden detail in Jack Nicholson’s performance in The Shining that has been overlooked. Based on the novel by Stephen King and directed by Stanley Kubrick, the 1980 horror film follows Nicholson as Jack Torrance whose sanity slowly begins to deteriorate during a stay at an isolated hotel with his family. Nicholson’s performance is one of the most acclaimed parts of the movie and in one scene after Jack argues with his wife Wendy, he storms out of the room and briefly glances at the camera. Over the years, there’s been debate over whether this was intentional.
Now, a new video essay by Filippo Ulivieri (ArchivioKubrick on YouTube) notices numerous instances throughout The Shining in which Nicholson looks right into the camera.
In addition to the aforementioned scene, the video points out every time that Jack Torrance looks at the camera, from early scenes when he first arrives at the hotel to the final scene in the hedge maze. They are all very brief moments, though some are quick glances while others are unabashedly blatant.
Is Jack Nicholson Looking At The Camera In The Shining Intentional?
While it was previously assumed that Nicholson glancing at the camera during one scene was unintentional, the numerous instances noticed by the new video essay basically confirm it was a conscious choice made by Nicholson and Kubrick. As shown in the documentary, Making The Shining, Kubrick even instructs Nicholson to look down directly at the camera during the scene when Jack is locked in the storeroom. Furthermore, the legendary director is known as a perfectionist with painstaking attention to detail who did a ton of takes to get the right one, often to the exhaustion of the cast and crew.
There are simply too many instances of Nicholson looking at the camera in The Shining for it to be accidental. In turn, the question of there are so many fourth wall breaks arises. As with any work of art, there is no definite interpretation behind this detail in Nicholson’s performance, though a possible explanation would be that it enhances the unsettling nature of Kubrick’s film while also subverting the conventions of the horror genre. Whatever the reason for the quick glances at the camera are, it’s a small detail that has barely been noticed by audiences over the years.
Source: ArchivioKubrick
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
