Written and directed by John Lee Hancock, adapting a short story by Stephen King, Mr. Harrigan's Phone feels like the kind of film that would result from, well, John Lee Hancock adapting a short story by Stephen King. He is helped by excellent casting, and I have seen many people already happy with what they view as a fairly faithful adaptation of the story (I haven't yet read that short story collection, "If It Bleeds", yet, despite my love of King's work), but it's a thriller/horror movie that is best described as perfunctory.
Jaeden Martell plays Craig, a young man who ends up making some pocket money by reading books to the titular Mr. Harrigan (played by Donald Sutherland). Mr. Harrigan is a rich businessman, with a potentially murky past that is only hinted at, and he enjoys the company of Craig. The two become friends, and when a scratchcard gift from Mr. Harrigan gives Craig a windfall of $3000, he decides to treat the older man to a mobile phone. Although he isn't initially thrilled by the device, Mr. Harrigan soon learns to appreciate his phone, for the information it can supply him and the "hotline" to Craig. It becomes such a prized possession that, during the sad time when Mr. Harrigan dies, Craig slips the phone into his inside pocket during the wake. And then Craig starts to receive text messages from . . . Mr. Harrigan.
I'll start discussing more about the film by praising the cast. Martell is very good, believably sweet without seeming overly precious, and Sutherland has one of his best roles in some time. Joe Tippet is a decent movie dad, Kirby Howell-Baptiste is a kind teacher, Ms. Hart, who becomes another friend to Craig, and Cyrus Arnold is entertainingly unpleasant as a towering school bully. The cast are really the best thing about this.
Aside from assembling a great cast, the other good thing that Hancock does is present a tale that you can tell contains the voice of King running through it. The dead parent, the magical bond of friendship shown, the school bully, the coming-of-age aspect, these are all elements that King often uses in a very King way, and there's a comforting familiarity here that you often feel when reading his work. That also works against it though, because this is too nice to be scary or upsetting. Hancock seems to be unwilling to make any artistic choice that could improve the material from the page to the screen, which is a shame. This could have been turned into something more impactful, a story that shows Craig struggling to get the genie back in the bottle or struggling even more to just let go/deal with loss. The latter is the focus of the film, but that's easy to forget as it spends the second half dealing with the fact that Craig realises he has access to a power that can help him get revenge on people who have spent too much of their life avoiding punishment for their misdeeds.
Although supernatural, and with scenes that touch on a backstory that is never fully explored (disappointingly), Mr. Harrigan's Phone is much more in line with the more emotionally-affecting works from Stephen King than any of his scarefests. It's about dealing with grief, Craig and his father are on their own after the untimely the death of his mother, and about the good consequences that can come from people who have done bad things. While others suffer, Craig has his life inexorably changed for the better by his friendship with Mr. Harrigan. Despite some interesting elements, it falls between two stools, failing to be enjoyably spooky while subsequently also failing to be as moving as any of King's better work.
This isn't bad. I've already seen comments from many people who enjoyed it more than I did. I just didn't think it was very good.
6/10
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