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Lisey’s Story is the latest Stephen King novel to be adapted for a visual medium. I’m not one for reading novels, but while I’ll always love the movie version of The Shining, the sequel, Doctor Sleep, was quite tedious. I was also not sold on IT and IT Chapter Two.
As we join our lead, Lisey (Julianne Moore – Wonderstruck), her husband, Scott Landon (Clive Owen – Gemini Man 3D HFR), is about to found a new library when a crazed fan comes out of the crowd and shoots him. Lisey does her best to incapacitate the baddie, but it’s all in vain for Scott.
Events then move on two years and she’s still struggling to come to terms with what happened, but life is dealing other bad cards as one of her sisters, Amanda (Joan Allen – Room), has degenerated to the point where she’s in a semi-catatonic state, sometimes imagining Scott is still alive. Given that the series also features flashbacks, such as to the couple’s wedding, then Clive Owen’s involvement in the series is far from over, despite the noticeable handicap of his character being dead.
But nothing’s ever straight-forward in a Stephen King story, and Lisey has been invited to take part in a ‘bool hunt’ – aka a treasure hunt – left behind by Scott. One clue will lead to another, and another…
For the other characters, some people act as grumpy beyond belief – such as Roger Dashmeil (Ron Cephas Jones), a man who demands to put out Scott’s unpublished works, whilst cueing spooky background music… Jim (Dane DeHaan) is another crazed fan, who just acts like he’s on a different planet as he speaks in a monotone voice. I know Mr DeHaan has been very good in Chronicle, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (IMAX 3D) and also starred alongside Mr Owen in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 3D, but here, he’s just ‘mental mental chicken oriental’!
In addition, Jennifer Jason Leigh (Good Time, Patrick Melrose) portrays Darla, sister to both Lisey and Amanda, and she’s still as hot as ever.
Lisey’s Story sees two episodes being made available on day one (so far, the only ones I’ve seen), with the rest of the 8-part series releasing weekly. Trouble is, I can’t get a handle on these openers, as they’re mostly nonsense and I’m not in the slightest bit interested to find out how things work out.
Lisey’s Story is on Apple TV+ from Friday June 4th, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
Check out the trailer below:
Episodes 1 and 2 Score: 3/10
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 50 mins per episode
Release date: June 4th 2021
Studio: Apple TV+
Format: 2.00:1
Director: Pablo LarraÃn
Producers: Andrew Balek, Marty Bowen
Screenwriter/Novel: Stephen King
Music: Clark
Cast:
Lisey Debusher Landon: Julianne Moore
Scott Landon: Clive Owen
Darla: Jennifer Jason Leigh
Amanda: Joan Allen
Jim Dooley: Dane DeHaan
Roger Dashmeil: Ron Cephas Jones
Young Darla: Ariana Jalia
Young Lisey: Claire Keane
Young Amanda: Anastasia Veronica Lee
Dan Beckman: Sung Kang
Young Scott Landon: Sebastian Eugene Hansen
Drummer: Giovanni Celentano
Paul Landon: Clark Furlong
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.