MR. HARRIGAN'S PHONE (2022)

Studio:     Netflix/Blumhouse
Director:    John Lee Hancock
Writer:     John Lee Hancock
Producer:  Ryan Murphy, Jason Blum, Carla Hacken
Stars:     Donald Sutherland, Jaeden Martell, Joe Tippett, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Cyrus Arnold, Colin O’Brien, Thomas Francis Murphy, Peggy J. Scott

Review Score:

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Summary:

Having been buried with his cellphone, a dead billionaire seemingly remains supernaturally connected to an idealistic boy he befriended.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

As a boy still grieving his mother’s death while growing up in a small Maine town in 2003, Craig Poole takes a job reading classic literature three times a week to John Harrigan, a reclusive and widely disliked billionaire with failing eyesight. Craig and Harrigan form an unlikely friendship as years go by. Craig later learns that Harrigan also lost his mother when he was young, and their shared loneliness drew him to Craig.

In 2008, Craig begins attending high school in nearby Gates Falls with his friends Billy, U-Boat, and Margie. Craig quickly attracts the ire of bully Kenny Yankovich, but befriends science teacher Ms. Hart.

For Christmas, Craig receives a Red Devil scratch-off lotto ticket from Harrigan, who gives Craig the tickets as a holiday bonus four times a year, and wins $3,000. Craig also receives an iPhone from his widower father. For his first call, Craig phones Harrigan to thank him for the winning lotto ticket. The phone also allows Craig to get closer to his crush Regina at school since it puts him into a popular clique.

Craig uses a portion of his lottery winnings to purchase an iPhone for Harrigan as a gift. Although initially dismissive of the device, Harrigan becomes fascinated by the phone as Craig teaches him how to monitor stocks and business news with it.

True to his reputation for ruthlessness, Harrigan makes Craig promise that he will always dispatch any enemies with haste. From Harrigan’s loyal housekeeper Edna Grogan, Craig later learns that Dusty Bilodeau, a former employee fired for stealing from Harrigan, died a supposedly gruesome death.

Craig arrives for a reading session to find Harrigan dead in his chair and holding his cellphone, which was prepared to call Craig. Craig tearfully calls his father, who calls an ambulance to collect Harrigan’s body.

At the funeral, Craig puts the cellphone in Harrigan’s suit pocket to bury him with it. At the cemetery, Craig notes that Harrigan is being buried next to his mother Joanna, whose grave Craig never visits due to his difficulty accepting her death.

From Harrigan’s business manager Chick Rafferty, Craig learns Harrigan left him $800,000 in a trust to be used for college. Oddly, the letter left by Harrigan seemingly references a text Craig sent to Harrigan’s phone after he died.

As part of his mourning process, Craig calls Harrigan’s phone and leaves a voicemail. The next morning, Craig receives a cryptic text of several letters in response. Worried that Harrigan was buried alive, Craig shows the message to his father, who dismisses the text as a technical glitch or cloned phone while explaining that Harrigan underwent an autopsy. Craig visits Harrigan’s grave anyway and hears his ringtone coming from beneath the dirt.

Craig attends a school dance with Regina, which makes Margie jealous. Wrongly blaming Craig for being the snitch who got him expelled for selling drugs, Kenny beats up Craig outside. Ms. Hart helps Craig clean up, during which Craig learns about Ms. Hart’s distinctly scented soap and tells her he owes her for all of the kindnesses she showed him throughout the years.

Unwilling to speak to anyone about the incident, Craig calls Harrigan to tell him about Kenny beating up Craig. The next day, Craig learns Kenny died and his body was found in a position similar to how Kenny beat Craig.

Craig calls Harrigan to ask if he had anything to do with Kenny’s death. Craig receives another cryptic text in response.

Craig asks Ms. Hart about ghosts, but she responds that she doesn’t believe in messing about in matters related to the afterlife. Craig also consults his church’s Reverend Mooney, who reiterates what Ms. Hart and Craig’s father already told him about nothing supernatural going on with Harrigan’s phone.

Craig purchases a new iPhone so he isn’t tempted to contact Harrigan again, but he stores the old phone in his closet. Craig tries calling Harrigan from the new phone and is relieved when the call doesn’t go through.

Craig goes off to college in Boston on a scholarship to pursue his dream of becoming a Hollywood screenwriter. Craig later returns home for a funeral after learning Ms. Hart was killed by drunk driver Deane Whitmore, who ends up only sentenced to rehab instead of prison.

Seeking retribution for Ms. Hart’s death, Craig digs out his old phone to call Harrigan. Craig asks for Deane to die, but quickly regrets it. Deane does die, and Craig eventually learns that Deane choked himself to death on the same soap that Ms. Hart used. Craig suffers an emotional breakdown over his guilt.

Craig ultimately concludes that Harrigan’s cryptic texts were telling Craig to stop. At Harrigan’s tombstone, Craig tells Harrigan he can rest now. Craig finally visits his mother’s grave. Craig then throws the old phone into a flooded quarry while vowing to be buried with empty pockets when he dies.

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Review:

Adapted from the novella in his “If It Bleeds” collection, Netflix’s “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” both is and isn’t what many might popularly expect from a Stephen King story. Because nothing supernatural or “scary” happens for nearly the entire first half of the runtime, the movie doesn’t exactly tread in traditional King terror-tory. At the same time, “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” still molds mood out of quite a few typical King tropes, from a budding young writer growing up in a small Maine town to an assortment of high school stooges like a comic book-reading goof-off and an overbearingly oafish bully.

In 2003, Craig takes a job, the kind kids often get from elderly neighbors or family friends, reading classic literature to Mr. Harrigan three times a week. Craig is an idealistic young boy still mourning his mother’s death, otherwise undergoing an ordinary childhood of corner stores and classmate crushes under the caring eye of his grieving father. Harrigan is a reclusive billionaire with failing eyesight, whose callous prioritization of business over people assured him a lonely life in a museum-like mansion.

Craig and Harrigan are characters that can be summarized in single sentences, but the performances put far more complexity into their personalities. By the time the boy matures into a teenager after five years of regular readings with Mister Harrigan, Jaeden Martell takes over the role and continues evolving Craig into a kind, smart, thoughtful person. You wouldn’t want to put an “-ly” adjective in front of any of those traits. There’s a casual quality to Craig that endears him as a relatable “Everykid,” someone whom anyone can see some element of themselves reflected in. Rather than being defined too distinctly, Craig serves as a malleable vessel for absorbing audience sympathies on his heartbreaking journey of self-discovery.

Harrigan inherits the appealing charm and commanding presence that comes naturally from being played by Donald Sutherland. It’s a savvy strategy for creating a character simply. Start with the stereotypical skeleton of a cutthroat entrepreneur, a cantankerous Rupert Murdoch type you’d expect to see menacing minority housekeepers with sadistic verbal abuse. Then coat him in the unexpected warmth of Sutherland’s grandfatherly gravitas. Harrigan doesn’t demand that the actor do much more than sit, reacting to Craig’s readings or instigating mildly combative conversations on his own. Sutherland’s almost regal steeliness suits Harrigan perfectly, providing a sense of sternness, perhaps even insidiousness, that concurrently wars with an inviting aura that manages to both challenge and inspire Craig.

Theirs is an unusual bond to be sure, and writer/director John Lee Hancock ensures that their unlikely friendship anchors the movie’s emotional moments while remaining balanced fairly. It’s not a spoiler to reveal that Harrigan dies. His demise and subsequent continued connection to Craig via a seemingly supernatural cellphone are central points to the plot. Of course Harrigan’s fondness for Craig means he’ll be financially provided for in the will, but it’s not a monumental windfall like one might expect to see in an exaggerated movie universe. It’s an appropriate fraction of cash, indicative of how Harrigan appreciates Craig without truly treating him like the adored son he never had. Their link is realistically respectful without being cloying, and that’s due to how effortlessly Martell and Sutherland present the duo as authentic people we can connect with and feel for.

The problem this poses is that every other side player becomes background noise as “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” moves on. A groundskeeper, a college roommate, and a girl with unrequited romantic affection for Craig are just three of the throwaway inclusions that don’t even facilitate any necessary narrative beats. Not that they have to. The bond between Craig and Harrigan is what matters most to the movie, though it comes at the expense of attempting to expand a short story with filler fit for a Deleted Scenes section on home video.

Since “spookiness” doesn’t enter the picture until the movie’s midpoint, those with heavy eyelids will have the hardest time hearing the questions “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” poses. This is a sentimental Stephen King story about death, grieving, and guilty consciences that’s closer in tone to “Stand by Me” than “Pet Sematary.” Some may be disappointed to discover that the movie delivers a drama determined to stick with you, just not in the haunting way that King’s frightful fables often do. Instead, “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” hits invested heads and hearts in a reflective manner that prompts intrapersonal examinations of coping, culpability, and coming to terms with the consequences of damaging actions.

Review Score: 75

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