MovieChat Forums > The Shining (1980) Discussion > Lloyd

Lloyd

posted 7 years ago by sargesmash
9 replies | jump to latest

I have yet to read the book, having only seen the film, but what is up with Lloyd the bartender?

Jack had already begun to lose his mind by the time we meet Lloyd, but up to this moment, Jack hadn't (at least on screen) interacted with any other phantoms, let alone know them by name and interact with them.

Taking into consideration the hotel feeding off Jacks' psyche, I'm just curious if perhaps Jack knew Lloyd somewhere else in the world before working at the Overlook, which is why he didn't flip out and run when a ghostly bartender with fully stocked shelf magically appears.

[–] Barbed_Wire_Strawberry 7 years ago

These are Jack's deep subconcious issues manifesting. It's entirely possible that Lloyd was an amalgam of bartender's Jack knew from before (Portland Maine, Portland Oregon speech).

He's quite devil-ish though, isn't he?

Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride

[–] fiatlux-1 7 years ago

In the film, I got the distinct impression he was meant to be a demonic and/o devilish *Tempter* of sorts to Jack.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] betel-geuse 7 years ago

I think Jack started out just messing around with his reflection and then as often is the case, his imagination got the best of him. He obviously knows no one else is in the hotel because Wendy shows up shortly and he looks drunk but confident that she's an idiot because no one else could be in the hotel. "are you out of your fcking mind?"

Lloyd's first scene is mostly in Jack's head in my opinion. The second time Lloyd shows up he is part of the hotel.

[–] agusmaga93 7 years ago

I kow Kubrick's Shining is not the most faithful book-to-film adaptation, but it does have some hints to the novel. In the book, King explains that Jack's encounter with Lloyd was just imaginary. There are some scenes where Jack acts like a child, playing on his own, pretending to be a giant, etc. I think Jack just wanted to pretend he had someone to talk with after the incident with Wendy blaming him for Danny's injuries, and who better to talk about your marital problems with than a bartender?

[–] fiatlux-1 7 years ago

I know the book near by heart, and there is no indication that Lloyd is a hallucination (meaning not actually there, not something only HE could see).

In the film & the novel, Lloyd is an evil spirit/being projected to Jack from the evil in the Overlook Hotel.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] Strannger (2007) 7 years ago

Yep in the book his daughters tried to destroy the motel by setting fire to it and he took them out before killing himself

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 7 years ago

Actually, those weren't Lloyd's daughters. They were Grady's. Grady was the waiter who bumped into Jack and spilled drinks on him. Grady escorted Jack to the restroom to clean his jacket. While in there, Jack recognized the name and asked about Grady's wife and children. Grady was the previous caretaker.
Lloyd was just the bartender and I believe at first, he was just a figure of Jack's imagination.

[–] Strannger (2007) 7 years ago

Your right. I forgot about grady

[–] TM1617-2 (595) 7 years ago

Lloyd is a ghost from a previous era like each Grady. He must be the hotel's bartender from the twenties since he and Jack know each other. I think that Lloyd is initially alone with Jack in an empty ballroom to emphasize that he is there to cater exclusively to the other man's impulses. As someone who works with liquor, Lloyd represents the greatest weakness of an alcoholic. Instead of seeming like the threat to Jack's mentality that the audience knows that he is, the bartender appears as a friend because that is what drinking is to Jack. Lloyd is the easiest person for the spirit of the hotel to use to overtake Jack's mind.