A Book A Week

During the ongoing Spooky Season, I've been diligently making my way through a list of eerie films that I've been wanting to watch. Among them is Mr. Harrigan's Phone, a Netflix movie adapted from one of Stephen King's short stories found in If It Bleeds. The story in question was a standout piece in the collection, so I held high expectations for its cinematic adaptation. With Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum as producers and John Lee Hancock as the director, it appeared to have the ideal team of filmmakers to do justice to the story.

The movie transports us back to the early 2000s, a period when technology was on the verge of reshaping the world as we knew it. Jaeden Martell, acclaimed for his role in another Stephen King adaptation, It, portrays the young Craig. In the film, Craig is still mourning the loss of his mother and doing his best to console his equally grieving father. Demonstrating remarkable dedication, he regularly reads at church services, where his performance captures the interest of another churchgoer, Mr. Harrigan. Portrayed by the formidable Donald Sutherland, Harrigan is a reclusive billionaire who becomes fascinated by Craig's reading skills. He hires the boy to come to his mansion each week and read classic novels to him. To express his gratitude, Harrigan occasionally surprises the boy with a scratch-off lottery ticket.

This routine continues for several years, with Craig advancing into high school. He has faced difficulties in making friends in his new environment and has unwittingly become the target of a bully. Seeking guidance on how to deal with his adversaries, Craig poses the question to Harrigan. In response, Harrigan ominously utters, "harshly."

Craig's life turns unexpectedly when he scratches off his latest lottery ticket, revealing a substantial prize of a few thousand dollars. Thrilled by his newfound wealth, he purchases two brand-new iPhones, one for himself and the other for Mr. Harrigan. Initially hesitant about the technology, Harrigan gradually recognizes its value in having real-time information at his fingertips. He becomes captivated by the device, diverting his attention away from the books Craig continues to read.

Then, one fateful day, upon arriving for their customary reading session, Craig discovers the lifeless body of Mr. Harrigan in the same chair where he always sat. Overwhelmed by shock and sorrow, he keeps Harrigan's iPhone as a lasting memento of their time together. During Harrigan's funeral, Craig discreetly places the phone in the casket alongside him.

Several days later, grappling with an intense sense of loss and yearning for his mentor and friend, Craig calls Harrigan's phone. As anticipated, the call is directed to voicemail. Yet, when he attempts texting, he is astonished to receive a response. Soon, Craig finds himself confiding his deepest thoughts to the deceased man. More disconcertingly, a series of mysterious events begin to unfold.

Stephen King's short story operates as a pertinent parable on the hazards of technology. In characteristic King style, he underscores this moral with hints of horror to drive his message home. The film adaptation explores comparable themes, but the necessity to elongate the brief tale into a full-length feature movie dilutes the narrative with extraneous elements. Martell and Sutherland's performances brim with sincerity and manage to capture the essence of the written characters. However, even their acting prowess cannot rescue the film from succumbing to its own excess. The story attempts to stretch both the coming-of-age facet and the supernatural elements in a manner that never effectively integrates them. Neither aspect is fully developed to its utmost potential. Instead, the result is a narrative that shares the same foundational elements as the source material but ultimately falls short of replicating the impact of the original text.