Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, 2022.
Written and Directed by John Lee Hancock.
Starring Donald Sutherland, Jaeden Martell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Cyrus Arnold, Thomas Francis Murphy, Joe Tippett, Caitlin Shorey, Colin O’Brien, Peggy J. Scott, Daniel Reece, and Iván Amaro Bullón.
SYNOPSIS:
When Mr. Harrigan dies, the teen who befriended and did odd jobs for him, puts his smartphone in his pocket before burial and when the lonely youth leaves his dead friend a message, he is shocked to get a return text.
Set during the rise of smart-phones and Internet technology, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is a cautionary tale about the dangers of obsession with those devices, both in the context of the film’s past tense and terrifying modern-day reality overflowing with misinformation at the expense of unsuspecting consumers. Written and directed by John Lee Hancock, the story also comes with a supernatural twist (which should be no surprise since it’s based on a short story from Stephen King), albeit one that doesn’t necessarily come into play until over halfway.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with John Lee Hancock wanting to take some time to explore the character dynamics at the center of Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, considering that although there is mysterious murder, none of that is here for cheap thrills or jump-scares. The supernatural aspect is baked into the characters and ongoing themes without resorting to trashy execution, even if the whole endeavor comes across like a series of loosely stitched-together plot points, making an obvious point that might have been profound and forewarning if it had come out 15 years ago. Still, as is, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is an overly solemn tale that bluntly gets across familiar messages.
Jaeden Martell is Craig, a lonely teenager that has held down an odd job reading to blind and elderly wealthy business tycoon Mr. Harrigan (Donald Sutherland) three times a week. Stretching out this short story seems to have wisely come from expanding on the unlikely friendship between Craig and Mr. Harrigan. He also grew up lonely and bullied but harnessed that psychological damage into motivation to become a ruthless billionaire. As such, in novels Mr. Harrigan chooses for Craig to read him (many of which are done so multiple times over the years), there’s a sensation that he is using the books to teach lessons in the form of regrets.
When not getting in those reading hours, Craig also has a strained school life, now forced to venture out of his small main village into a busier town more up-to-date with technology (it’s where the only high school is located). A bit of narrative dressing gives the impression that neither John Lee Hancock nor Stephen King is well-versed in what school was like during those times, there is a school cafeteria where the popular kids hang out, but the only way to join the social status is by having a cell phone. There is also a local bully (Cyrus Arnold) with a troubled life that is less of a character and more of a convenient plot device to push various story aspects further.
Nevertheless, Craig gets a phone from his father (Joe Tippett) for Christmas and decides to use the remaining funds from a winning raffle ticket to purchase one for Mr. Harrigan. Initially, the cynical man wants nothing to do with technology, advising that “our possessions own us” rather than the other way around. However, he does an immediate 180 on this stance once Craig alerts him that stock market updates are readily available.
Mr. Harrigan eventually returns to his doomsaying ways (and has been proven right by our current society), but that still doesn’t change the entire dialogue exchange from feeling weak, as if the story is moving characters around like chess pieces to fit the grander picture. We’re supposed to believe this man never once checked out a television but was willing to try out cell phones based on five minutes of convincing from a teenager.
It will surprise no one that Mr. Harrigan inevitably passes from natural causes (it’s part of the basic plot synopsis). Still, the wait for some conflict to begin is lengthy and makes a decent case for why this works better as a short story. Craig also has complications accepting and processing death; his mother died when he was young, and he has only visited her gravesite once. Anyway, Craig buries the man with his phone, receiving cryptically gibberish text messages whenever he tries to contact it. More concerning, characters start turning up dead if Craig has a moment of irrationality and wishes ill on them.
The fact that Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is fixated on how technology and grief correlate to young Craig ensures that the story remains surface-level intriguing. Still, this film doesn’t have anything refreshingly insightful to say, complete with paper-thin supporting characters. It’s one thing to be more ambitious with a supernatural spin, but the results here are mostly dull and forgettable.
There’s no suspense, emotion, or drama in Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, yet the strangeness of the whole endeavor and Jaeden Martell doing his best to sell the character in this grounded approach keep things tolerable. Unfortunately, none of those elements are dialled up.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
