Gunslinger

I finally finished The Gunslinger, the first book in Stephen King's magnum opus, The Dark Tower. I have to admit... I was underwhelmed.

However, I have heard excellent things about the series as a whole, so if you have it in you to convince me to keep reading, I'm all ears. This was my first King novel ever, and at this point, I've given up on the man, honestly. Color me unimpressed.

Anyway, this book is being made into a movie, or rather, the whole series has been sold to the Hollywood powers that be, and this book is the first one up. I actually think this will make a decent movie- the 264 page book had what I thought amounted to about 180 pages of genuine story, so nothing worthwhile will get cut. There's a lot of chance for action, and we all know that enough action can make you forget that there's no substance to the story, right?

There's really only a handful of characters, and all but one we only see briefly. Before we get started let me set the tone for you: this books is basically a post-apocalyptic western fantasy horror story. So... creepy. Creepy is the vibe you should be getting.

First, Alice. Or Allie. Depending on what page we're on, she's referred to by both names an equal number of times (like that's not confusing...). She's a barmaid in a dusty old town, and she's willing to sleep with a customer she just met. I sort of get the feeling that life's handed her a difficult hand, and that's she's "past her prime" if you know what I mean. I cannot get Catherine O'Hara out of my head.

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In a set of flashbacks, we see the Gunslinger's instructor. He's a small, angry man who teaches all the potential gunslingers how to be ruthless warriors. We don't really know what they're warring against, but they're preparing and training nonetheless. This man is ruthless and calculating; I mean he's training pubescent boys to be cold killers for crying out loud! There's something... I don't know? Malicious? around Michael Sheen's eyes that makes me think he could do something like this.

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 We also meet Jake. Jake is a 10 (ish) year old boy who accompanies the Gunslinger. For what purpose, I know not, but he's there. He's incredibly innocent and weird. He comes from another point in the time space continuum/ parallel dimension/ world/ universe... we don't really know at this point. The point is: he's in an alien environment for an unknown reason to accompany a stranger on an unknown and mysterious task. Got it? It's such a heavy role and the kid is so young, that this would go to an unknown. Somebody like Haley Joel Osment in Sixth Sense... but HJO is way to old now (you wanna feel old- he's 22. Old enough to be out of college) But somebody like that.

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The Man in Black is being pursued throughout the story. He pops up occasionally and shows his face from time to time. He's the villain, I guess, although I think the Gunslinger is fighting his personal demons more so than any outside force. This Man in Black is curt, brazen and ought to strike you as villainous. Alfred Molina. 

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Now for the Gunslinger himself. Since he really is the only character in the story, and he's in every single scene, this can go to a really big name, heavyweight type of actor. He's gotta be rugged and tough and (let's face it) handsome. He's struggling with who he is and what he's doing. He is filled with self-loathing for the things he's done and he's been responsible for. At the same time, he is filled with a disarming sense of purpose; he will reach the Dark Tower, no matter who he has to hurt or kill or destroy or leave behind in the process. The dichotomy of his psyche will be difficult to play, and needs to go to somebody with some serious chops. I have three choices, all of which I think are viable in their own way.

First, my top choice, is Brad Pitt. He would be a sympathetic Gunslinger; focusing on the self-loathing side. He knows that what he is doing is for the greater good (whatever that means in this story) but he hates that he has to do it this way. He's capable of love and affection, but barges on regardless in pursuit of his goals.

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Second, is Leonardo DiCaprio. You might hate to admit this, but the man has come a long, long way since the Romeo + Juliet and Titanic days. He's burgeoning into one of the greatest actors of this generation, and he's shown his grit more than once, to great effect. I think DiCaprio's Gunslinger would be more ruthless, more cold. There would be little remorse for his despicable actions, and it would be fleeting. He's single minded in his pursuit, and nothing and nobody else matters.

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And my third pick, Johnny Depp. Depp's Gunslinger would be the more psychotic version. In the book, you get the sense that he may not even know why he's pursuing the man in black; he knows he wants to find the Dark Tower, but he's not even certain of that. He definitely changes his MO more than once, and he's proven his ability to react on pure, self-preserving instinct. His pursuit is a mindless one; he pursues because he must.

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All three of these men are heralded as being fantastic actors, and I genuinely believe that any one of them could pull off this role and do it with panache. It all depends on the direction the director wants to go with it, and any of these portrayals would be entertaining and intriguing. I really did picture all three of them at different times, depending on what the story was doing at the time. The Gunslinger's face in my head changed a lot :) I also pictured Dennis Quaid from time to time... but I think he's too much of a "nice guy" to take on something so dark and sinister as this.



Please post your ideas in the comments- whether you agree with me or not!
You can read my review of this book on Goodreads.com