Mr. Harrigan’s Phone
A Stephen King adaptation that builds quiet tension while probing the cost of vengeance.
Date: October 9, 2022
Film: Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022)
This is an adaptation of a Stephen King novella—worth mentioning because it explains a lot about the film’s mood. The story unfolds with a beautiful, steady rhythm. Every scene adds something, every beat gives us a little more information, and by the end the picture truly comes together. I did walk away with a few lingering questions, but they were philosophical rather than flaws.
We learn almost nothing about Harrigan’s past—there is a small parallel with the boy’s life at the end, and that is it. Oddly enough I liked that. Here is an elderly, withdrawn, wealthy man who still takes the trouble to show a young kid the way through work and, in the process, quietly prepares him for life. That gesture is huge, and it is not the sentimental kind. I also loved how the film shows the power of books and knowledge—just when we think, “I already know everything,” someone opens another door. One of my favourite moments is that softening: when the initially arrogant, superior attitude melts into quiet respect.
The story also underscores how knowledge can become a weapon. We wish for something in anger or hurt without considering the other side. Society piles on because we are constantly judging. That is where the film starts asking what we truly value: revenge, justice, forgiveness, or the feeling that “it was deserved”? That part feels quintessentially King.
The smartphone thread works especially well. The film captures the tension between modern devices and the real world: how an old-school newspaper reader becomes tethered to a phone, how real relationships fade, and how we start seeing everything through a screen. The line near the end really landed for me: it is not the devices that rely on us; we depend on them because they are the connective tissue of the twenty-first century. Within this film that idea resonates powerfully.
There is a familiar “King adaptation pattern” in the execution: the elderly figure starts gruff, cold, distant, and slowly warms. It did not bother me here because the kid plays uncertainty, curiosity, and attachment so well. The only emotion that did not quite sync between us was guilt. The film wanted that to hit harder than it did for me.
Overall I give it an 8/10. It is a quiet, clever film that does not jump around or go for cheap scares. Instead it slowly wraps you in its atmosphere. Honestly, I do not understand why its IMDb score is so low.