While Lisey's Story was one of King's best novels in part because of its complexity, he was unable to edit down the endless subplots and subtext that float well in the novel's undercurrents but become choking and unwieldy on screen.
The back half of this miniseries is so bogged down by inconsistent pacing, drawn-out scenes, muddled plotting, and a frustratingly anticlimactic ending that all the good Lisey's Story delivers before that collapse ends up overshadowed.
All the performances are first-rate. Mr. Owen is in rare form -- the role of the wounded child-turned-artist is not something previously in the actor's repertoire. Ms. Allen and Ms. Moore are extraordinary
Lisey's Story has the distinct feel of something that has been created by a bunch of men who haven't been told 'no' in quite some time. Ultimately, it is a woman who pays for their overindulgence.
There are some interesting, often supernatural connections between the characters; the hard part is wanting to stick around long enough to see where they might lead.
Its effectiveness, even in some of its less compelling moments, with heady and heartfelt writing, and performances that simmer is hard to forget. It's the Stephen King adaptation I've been waiting for.
The porousness of the action becomes frustrating and, ultimately, off-putting. I don't mind being toyed with by a show; I don't need strict linearity. But the willful swirl and the withholding of coherence are too extreme here.
