Desperation

Desperation is a mammoth novel written by Stephen King in 1997. Set in and around the Highway 50 in the middle of the desert, near Ely in the USA, the novel centres around the Carver family, Johnny Marinville (National Award Winning author) and Peter and Mary Jackson. All find themselves bizarrely confronted by a towering cop, Collie Entragian, and taken back to the arid, delapidated mining town, Desperation. It rapidly becomes clear that it is not simply a case of a quick warning from the police; Entragian has his own dark agenda. Or is it his own? The star of the novel is David Carver, a sagacious, clear-thinking, recently converted Christian, who is seemingly directed by God. Will Entragian's victims follow David, in this epic battle of Good Vs. Evil? It seems the Evil once burried beneath Desperation has been unlocked. Faith is the only hope, in David and God.

King's characterisation in Desperation is sublime as in many of his other novels. We really get deep into the minds of the characters, undestanding their motives, quirks and histories. This is especially the case for David Carver where his past experience and conversion to Christianity is an overarching theme of the novel. What is clear thoughout is the sense of claustrophobia, possibly enhanced by the reader entering the character's minds. King seems to have a grasp of human thought under strain as he doesn't focus on the solemn but shows the banal or perverse side to human thought even when pushed to such terrifying extremities. What makes this novel such a page-turner is King's use of perspective and dramatic irony; King shifts perspective at tense moments and witholds his return to the altered perpsective. This works as to deepen our sense of dread and impending doom.

But what stood out most for me was King's detailed study of faith. Indeed, Desperation is inherently about God. However, King isn't in the Dawkins camp: faith is painted in a positive light. Perhaps King's introduction of charcters such as the hedonistic Merinville, transforming within the confines of the novel teaches us that when the human condition is pushed to the farthest reaches of extremity only faith will provide the guiding hand. Otherwise failure is inevitable. Desperation is gripping, terrifying, intelligent. It's a shame King isn't writing such good material nowadays...

The Wrestler

Well I've just watched The Wrestler directed by Darren Aronofsky and thought I would give it an impulsive review.

Randy 'The Ram' Robinson was a well-loved wrestler of the 1980s and 20 years on is still wrestling in gyms and theatres around the US. Having lost contact with his daughter and holding no real relationships, he thrives from the thrill and drama of the live show. However, Randy is forced to face the reality of what lies outside the ring when he has a heart attack and his identity begins to slip away. Trying to reestabilish what he once had, Randy tries to reconnect with his daughter and begins a romance with an aging stripper. But the live crowd beckons and what lies outside the ring does not compare with what lies within.

Micky Rourke is spellbinding as Randy and the film is executed extremely well. Aronofsky is known to push his actors to extreme limits and here it definitely pays off. Also there was no fixed storyboard so actors were allowed to ad lib giving the film a raw, edgy, documentary feel. The wrestling was actually filmed at weekends interspersed in real live performances with a live crowd, providing an unpolished immersive aesthetic. Retrospectively, the $5 million dollar budget is perhaps a necessary requisite to create such passionate realism. Overall a brilliant film and Aronofsky's message is one of dedication; stick to your guns and don't let anything stand in your way.