Jack Nicholson’s Intentional Physical & Mental Labyrinth in ‘The Shining’ We Totally Missed

In The Shining (1980), Stanley Kubrick’s genius hides in plain sight — even in Jack Nicholson’s tie.

Kubrick felt that the physical maze created for the production (which was about 2/3 the size of what’s suggested in the movie) would be too easy to solve.

This prompted the crew to challenge him. They asked him to try and solve it himself one Saturday morning on set. Folks were delighted when the filmmaker had to give up.

During the Overlook Hotel interview scene, Jack Torrance wears a tie with a geometric pattern. This pattern eerily resembles the aerial view of the hedge maze shown later in the film. This is no coincidence.

Kubrick is known for his obsession with detail. He uses the tie as a subtle foreshadowing. It serves as a visual prophecy of Jack’s descent into madness. It also foreshadows Jack’s eventual entrapment within the maze.

As film scholar Juli Kearns noted, “Jack is already inside the maze before he even gets there.”

The pattern on his tie mirrors the physical labyrinth. It also mirrors the mental one — a maze of isolation, obsession, and violence. Jack cannot escape from it.

Kubrick’s meticulous symbolism turns a simple wardrobe choice into psychological storytelling.

The maze isn’t just outside the hotel — it’s inside Jack’s mind. By the time he’s chasing Danny through the snow, the pattern on his tie has become his destiny.