Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.
Room 237 is a genuinely singular piece of film criticism-as-cinema, presenting obsessive, wildly divergent interpretations of The Shining through disembodied voices and repurposed footage. Its form is its novelty — there's nothing quite like it in documentary filmmaking. However, the talking-head-free format means 'acting' is essentially irrelevant (rated low accordingly), the visual presentation is serviceable but limited by its reliance on clips and screen recordings, and the ending simply fades out without resolution, mirroring the inconclusive nature of conspiracy theorizing itself but leaving audiences unsatisfied. The 'plot' — such as it is — is engaging as a curio but meanders as the theories pile up without meaningful structure.