In spite of his place as one of the bestselling authors of all time, Stephen King is often overlooked for the quality of his stories, for their sometimes far-reaching social ramifications. Carrie is the first, and perhaps most pristine, example of this. But with the release of yet another iteration of his pivotal first published novel, this a full-fledged Hollywood remake of Brian De Palma’s artfully horrific 1976 treat, the tide may finally be turning.
The story of Carrie is simple enough— a meek and unpopular high schooler, here played by YA sensation Chloe Grace Moretz, is routinely tormented by the Mean Girls and ignored by the Hot Boys, but she has nowhere to turn: her unhinged and fanatical mother (a lackluster Julianne Moore) is abusive in a different, but even more harmful way at home. Soon, the girl discovers she has a power, a fiercely strong telekinetic force, which she tries to keep under wraps. But when the social situation at school goes from bad to way worse, thanks to a particularly vindictive queen bee (standout Portia Doubleday), the elements are set in place for a prom that no one will soon forget (to say the least).
It’s none too surprising to see this remake now, what with the appearance of school bullying as a ‘trending topic’ in recent years. And the filmmakers dutifully upgrade the bullies’ treachery to include Facebook and Youtube, trying to be as relevant as possible. If only the film as a whole could have been as relevant as the topics it brings to light.
While it’s commendable that director Kimberly Peirce (of Boys Don’t Cry renown) and screenwriter Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (of Glee) returned to the source material and looked askance of De Palma’s film, the new Carrie fails to step out from the shadow of its predecessor. The main reason for this: the new movie is too clean. While Sissy Spacek brought an awkward, waif-like energy to this antihero in the original film, acting so strange that it’s almost understandable why she would be so ostracized, Moretz plays Carrie straight as an arrow, as just a scared little lamb from the start, a victim who hasn’t truly earned her victimhood.
As for her mother Margaret, the new film does give Julianne Moore a few extra scenes to flesh out the character, but when considering Ms. Moore’s kooky turns in films like Magnolia and Safe, the end result here is rather humdrum: far from Piper Laurie’s gloriously off-kilter (and Oscar-nominated) portrayal of Carrie’s mother in the first film. The casting here was perfect, but the direction seems to have been misguided.
Nonetheless, it must be said that while this remake feels mostly unnecessary, any homage to Stephen King’s timeless story is a welcome one. With bullying still a major problem (perhaps some form of it will always exist), Carrie as an allegory to how children and teens treat each other in the real world was not lost on the director. Ms. Peirce is even ready to draw some surprising parallels between Carrie’s story and that of Brandon Teena, the murdered FTM trans person portrayed by Hilary Swank in Peirce’s groundbreaking debut Boys Don’t Cry. For Peirce, both stories feature “an essential protagonist with a hugely strong need. Carrie and Brandon both have similar needs, [they are] yearning to be accepted. Both live in small towns, tightly configured communities.”
While Brandon’s story is a true one and Carrie is of course fictitious, the parallels are there. Part cautionary tale, part revenge fantasy, Carrie takes the story of the victim to another level and shows bullies for what they are. It’s just another testament to King’s original book, how it can teach a lesson to practically any generation. Perhaps, if the novel had a rightful place as part of the American high school reading syllabus, some bullies would think twice before behaving the way they do.
—DH