I really like this one as well--I have it at 9/10 stars on IMDB. I agree that it is one of the few Stephen King film adaptations that may actually eclipse the original novel. Of course, the iconic story about the novel is that after the first draft, King threw it in the trash thinking that's what it was. His wife then fished it out of the bin and persuaded him to give it another go. It of course became his first best-selling novel and it was off to the races! Who knows where he'd be without that invention from Tabitha.
What always makes Carrie so poignant to me is that everyone knows a girl like this in high school. A girl who is extremely awkward and just doesn't fit in with anyone. The story really compounds this by showing how disadvantaged Carrie is by having such a fundamentalist religious mother, and how badly she wants to be "normal" (have a boyfriend, go to prom, etc.) even though in that high school realm she is seemingly always set up for failure. Like you say, it is so easy to root for her and thus so heart-breaking when it all goes wrong.
I'm also glad that Carrie Fisher didn't get this role, because Spacek is perfect for it. Not a conventional Hollywood beauty, which makes her uber-believable as the titular character. When she snaps after the pig's blood at the prom, I find that scene in the gym legitimately terrifying. Because again, you (the viewer) are thinking "what WOULD happen if the awkward girl snapped and just happened to have telekinetic powers? and Spacek's crazed reactions are perfect. In 2013 they tried to do a remake with Chloe Grace Moretz in the title role. It doesn't work because they can't de-beautify or normalize her enough to make the buy-in believable.
That's a great story! I had to look up if they're still married (they are). If he'd dumped her when he got rich, married a younger model, and given her hardly any alimony at all... I would think very differently about the guy today!
We had a tiny high school (50 in our graduating class) and there wasn't any bullying, or any girls like Carrie. But there was a really awkward-looking guy a lot of people mocked behind his back. I even heard a teacher do it once, which is appalling! I'm sure he was aware of it, at least a little.
About five years after graduation I ran into him. He was working for some big defense contractor in California making really scary weapons for the Pentagon. So, he went on his own killing spree... just a different kind.
De Palma's next movie was called The Fury, and has Amy Irving as another young girl with telekinetic powers. The plot's nowhere near as emotionally grabbing. But it has the BEST ending you could possibly imagine (and it happens just to the bad guy you want it to). Dang cool stuff.
I really like this one as well--I have it at 9/10 stars on IMDB. I agree that it is one of the few Stephen King film adaptations that may actually eclipse the original novel. Of course, the iconic story about the novel is that after the first draft, King threw it in the trash thinking that's what it was. His wife then fished it out of the bin and persuaded him to give it another go. It of course became his first best-selling novel and it was off to the races! Who knows where he'd be without that invention from Tabitha.
What always makes Carrie so poignant to me is that everyone knows a girl like this in high school. A girl who is extremely awkward and just doesn't fit in with anyone. The story really compounds this by showing how disadvantaged Carrie is by having such a fundamentalist religious mother, and how badly she wants to be "normal" (have a boyfriend, go to prom, etc.) even though in that high school realm she is seemingly always set up for failure. Like you say, it is so easy to root for her and thus so heart-breaking when it all goes wrong.
I'm also glad that Carrie Fisher didn't get this role, because Spacek is perfect for it. Not a conventional Hollywood beauty, which makes her uber-believable as the titular character. When she snaps after the pig's blood at the prom, I find that scene in the gym legitimately terrifying. Because again, you (the viewer) are thinking "what WOULD happen if the awkward girl snapped and just happened to have telekinetic powers? and Spacek's crazed reactions are perfect. In 2013 they tried to do a remake with Chloe Grace Moretz in the title role. It doesn't work because they can't de-beautify or normalize her enough to make the buy-in believable.
That's a great story! I had to look up if they're still married (they are). If he'd dumped her when he got rich, married a younger model, and given her hardly any alimony at all... I would think very differently about the guy today!
We had a tiny high school (50 in our graduating class) and there wasn't any bullying, or any girls like Carrie. But there was a really awkward-looking guy a lot of people mocked behind his back. I even heard a teacher do it once, which is appalling! I'm sure he was aware of it, at least a little.
About five years after graduation I ran into him. He was working for some big defense contractor in California making really scary weapons for the Pentagon. So, he went on his own killing spree... just a different kind.
De Palma's next movie was called The Fury, and has Amy Irving as another young girl with telekinetic powers. The plot's nowhere near as emotionally grabbing. But it has the BEST ending you could possibly imagine (and it happens just to the bad guy you want it to). Dang cool stuff.