Review: 'Stephen King's Bag of Bones' on A&E
Pierce Brosnan battles writer's block and a creaky ghost story in new miniseries
- Critic's Rating C-
- Readers' Rating C+
Pierce Brosnan sees old ghosts in "Stephen King's Bag of Bones."
Credit: A&E
I don't remember a lot about Stephen King's "Bag of Bones," the 1998 novel which A&E has adapted for a two-part miniseries airing Sunday and Monday night at 9, except for one part. The book's main character is novelist Mike Noonan, who comes down with a crippling case of writer's block after the sudden death of his wife Jo. The early sections of the book go on at length about Mike's sudden inability to do the thing that's made him a living and provided so much fulfillment, and it's every bit as vivid and terrifying as the best sequences in King's other books involving telekinetic prom queens, other-dimensional killer clowns and sentient, homicidal vintage cars. Admittedly, I'm a writer who's grappled with the problem from time to time (and never as long or as deeply as Mike does), so I'm a biased observer, but those early passages were the best bits of new King prose I'd read in more than a decade.
But "Bag of Bones" isn't really about Mike's writer's block; his problem is just the impetus to eventually get him to his family's old lake house, where Jo spent a lot of time before she died, and where there are ghosts, curses and other more familiar horror tropes. It's there where the book lost me, and though I read to the end, few of the details were still present in my head when I watched the A&E miniseries.
The miniseries was written by Matt Venne, and directed by Mick Garris, who's carved a career for himself as the go-to man for adaptating King books for the small screen. (He's previously been behind the camera for "The Stand," "The Shining" remake and "Desperation," among others.) In part because they're condensing 500+ pages into a little under three hours (when you take the commercials away), in part because writer's block isn't an easy thing to depict visually, the TV version dispenses with that part of the story quickly so it can get Mike (played by Pierce Brosnan) to the haunted lake house, where he befriends stressed single mother Mattie Devore (Melissa George), runs afoul of her definitely evil and possibly insane father-in-law Max (veteran sitcom dad William Schallert) and begins having dreams of early 20th century blues singer Sara Tidwell (Anika Noni Rose), whose death seems tied to whatever strange things are happening in and around the lake.
There's at once a lot of story, in that Mike seems to be dealing with multiple ghosts (including that of Jo, played by Annabeth Gish), and yet not enough, in that certain lines, visual motifs and bits of information get repeated over and over. So does the catchphrase "custody has its responsibilities," which never sounds remotely as ominous as it's intended - though maybe that's because it's usually coming from the mouth of the absurdly eeeeevil Max Devore, and/or his assistant Rogette (Deobrah Grover), who comes across like Thelma Ritter after a zombie bite. Together, the duo (a wheelchair-bound octogenarian and his wicked gal Friday) are supposed to come across as menacing; instead they, like so much of the miniseries, are silly.
It also doesn't help that the role, and story, don't especially play to Brosnan's skill set. There are long stretches of the story where Mike is on his own, crying, or yelling or trying to talk to the various ghosts, and it turns out that loudly emoting to thin air isn't one of Brosnan's strengths.
King famously figures out most of his stories as he goes along, which means his books often have great beginnings and forgettable or awkward endings. "Bag of Bones," especially this adaptation of it, doesn't have the benefit of the great start. It's never clear what the story is really about, or how its many pieces fit together. It's just a collection of creepy imagery, lots of screaming and the occasional musical number for Anika Noni Rose. Not that I mind getting to hear her sing; I'd just rather it was in the middle of a much more interesting story.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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About This Blog
All through his childhood, Alan Sepinwall's relatives told his parents, "All that boy does is watch television! How's he going to make a living doing that?" His career as a TV critic has been 15 years and counting of his attempt to answer their concerns. "What's Alan Watching" is a blog whose title is self-explanatory: Alan watches TV shows, then writes about what he watched. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupJasonR
December 9, 2011 at 10:26AM EST Reply to CommentYour recollection of the book is almost exactly the same as mine. I remember the beginning of the book very vividly - King did an amazing job depicting the main character's grief, but I couldn't tell you how the book ended to save my life. I still like the book, and I remember recommending it to people (especially to former King fans who didn't like the Dark Tower series) so I must not have hated the second half/ending of the book.
The perfect person to play Mike Noonan would have been Damian Lewis (who was in another King film, Dreamcatcher). He is one of the best actors around, period, but especially good at displaying a wide array of emotions without anyone else to play off of (Homeland!).
Dan I read the book a little over a month ago (so I do remember the ending, which upset me greatly, but won't spoil it here). I didn't picture Mike as a Damian Lewis type. More like a Paul Rudd type (minus the dripping sarcasm). But DEFINITELY not a Pierce Brosnan type. Terrible casting.
December 9, 2011 at 10:48AM ESTJasonR It has been ten years for me, so I don't remember the description or characterization of Mike. My preference for Lewis solely based on his acting chops. Brosnan was obviously chosen for name recognition...
December 9, 2011 at 11:07AM ESTTaffin
December 9, 2011 at 10:40AM EST Reply to CommentIt sounds like Brosnan shouldn't be living there!
OldDarth
December 9, 2011 at 11:06AM EST Reply to CommentThe book, and especially the audio book as King narrates it himself, are fantastic.
As you point Alan, so much of the story is internal to Mike which makes it very difficult to dramatize.
Russ
December 9, 2011 at 11:18AM EST Reply to CommentOne of only two King books (Gerald's Game being the other) that I never finished. It just never went anywhere with me.
December 9, 2011 at 12:08PM EST Reply to CommentI remember reading it in high school and for some reason, I don't recall the lake house ghosts being too menacing, more helpful (refrigerator magnets come to mind). It seems based on this review they're supposed to be scary when they're not
Jimmbo
December 9, 2011 at 12:25PM EST Reply to CommentHmmm...Alan rates C- and "readers" (reader?) rate A+.
Quite a discrepancy and points out need for # of voters data to make the rating meaningful/useful. And/or don't show a tally until X ratings are received.
M
December 9, 2011 at 2:49PM EST Reply to CommentIt's always kind of depressing when you see former movie stars in productions like this one. I know Brosnan didn't have much going on outside of Bond, but those movies must have paid pretty well. What happened?
Bryant Burnette
December 9, 2011 at 4:25PM EST Reply to CommentI hope to end up enjoying this more than Alan did ... but I expect to enjoy it even less.
The fact (as I see it, at least) is thst Mick Garris is a TERRIBLE director. Every single thing he's done with Stephen King is either outright awful (Sleepwalkers, Riding the Bullet, Desperation, Quicksilver Highway) or mediocre-leaning-toward-terrible (The Stand, The Shining). He has absolutely no facility at all for being subtle; watching his movies is like getting hit over the head with a rake. Even when he tries for subtle, it's like getting hitting in the head with a Nerf football: not enough to hurt, but enough to make you look at him and ask what the hell he thinks he's doing.
Of course, King can be guilty of lacking subtlety, too, but all things considered, I think there's a lot more going on beneath the surface with his books than Mick Garris is capable of bringing from page to screen. It's a real shame that yet another of his books is being given a screen treatment by someone who just isn't up to the job.
Trilby
December 12, 2011 at 3:50PM EST Reply to CommentKing "figures out most of his stories as he goes along"? Really? I am not a big fan so I didn't know he was famous for that but I certainly remember that when reading one of the few King novels that I read all the way through (for some reason), I kept saying to myself, He doesn't know where this is going! He's making it up as he goes along! Not the greatest way to plot stories, IMHO, but it made him a buttload of money. But it didn't make him a great writer.
Trilby
December 12, 2011 at 3:52PM EST Reply to CommentI turned this off halfway through. I didn't enjoy being jolted by scary imaginings as much as I thought I would. I am with Alan on this.
canadadry
December 13, 2011 at 3:22PM EST Reply to CommentWhat I saw of it looked painful.
It received poor reviews, but couldn't want to waste my time
Zilphia
December 17, 2011 at 5:13AM EST Reply to CommentIt was nicely executed and thought-provoking. Stephen King did a great job on the book and Pierce played his role well. Listening to the words in the song you had an idea of where the plot was going ...at least I did :)
jen
December 18, 2011 at 8:16AM EST Reply to CommentAgree completely about Brosnan's inability to emote to thin air - he also fails to capture any of that slightly cheesy salt-of-the earth irony KIng's characters do so well.... BUt Mick Garris - honestly! In his version of The Shining, he SHOWED the hedge-creatures walking along the lawn. BIG mistake. Takes all the horror of the unknown out of the equation. And then in Bag of Bones, he does it again, with Brosnan WATCHING the fridge magnets spell out their message.... I don't know how many horror movies (some bad, some good) I've seen do the fridge magnet thing, but every single one of them does it better than this as they understand a fundamental of this kind of filming - It's more disturbing and jarring to see the effects of this type of supernatural action than the action itself. Walking hedge monsters and slowly sliding letters are Comic moments, not horror. As for casting - Johnny Depp is no way a Stephen KIng type, but with better direction and thoughtful acting, pulled it off brilliantly in "Secret Window Secret Garden."
Jun
February 25, 2012 at 11:00AM EST Reply to CommentHi, does anyone remember a Stephen King story where a man's family and friends totally forgot who he is? Can't remember the title and would appreciate the help! Thank you!