+ Best Adaptation of the Year + Best Horror Movie of the Year + Best Mega-hit Movie of the Year + Best Villain of the Year: Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgård)
 |
| If you look into the red balloon on this poster for Andy Muschietti's It, you will see a hint of the film's terrifying villain |
Derby, a New England town in 1988: A young boy goes missing during a heavy rain, seemingly lost into the sewer system. Months later, a group of friends band around the boy's big brother after each suffering similar, menacing experiences, wanting to expose and defeat the strange evil that haunts the town.
It is the second adaptation of one of Stephen King's (The Running Man (1982)) most horrifying novels, the 1986 book of the same title, following the 1990 miniseries version by Tommy Lee Wallace. It is written by Chase Palmer (Shock and Awe (2004), short), Cary Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation (2015)) and Gary Dauberman (Annabelle: Creation (2017)) and directed by great Argentinian filmmaker Andy Muschietti (Mama (2013)). The story has been relocated from the 1950s to the late 1980s, a smart move probably made in order to make it more relatable and relevant to younger audiences today. The time is evocatively recreated with clothes, products and culture, such as one fine montage to a famous song (Six Different Ways) by The Cure.
The new version bests the also quite good and haunting miniseries and joins the ranks with some of the best King adaptations to date: I would place it after The Shining (1980) and Stand By Me (1986), and possibly The Shawshank Redemption (1994), but probably ahead of other great adaptations like Carrie (1976), Misery (1990) and Dolores Claiborne (1995). Muschietti's It is completely unfit for children; it is a violently intense and terrifying horror attack of a kind that only rarely comes around. The last instance of a major-studio, relatively big-budgeted horror of such high quality was James Wan's The Conjuring (2013). Audiences realize this and are flocking to see It right now for that very reason.
Bill Skarsgård (Atomic Blonde (2017)) is likely to become a household name off the performance he delivers here as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, which is nothing short of haunting. It veers from Tim Curry's fine turn in the miniseries in ways that are hard to describe; Skarsgård's Pennywise is less verbal and human; instead he is more animalic, demonic and malignant. The crafting of the look - or looks - of Pennywise are also first rate and impossible not to get fascinated with. More than anything, the few minutes we spend with Pennywise here are what will make people go back and see It again and again in days, months and years to come, as they hold some undeniable, freakish appeal.
The film has several attacks that are effective and terrifying. They are thrown upon adolescents whose lives are already fraught with peril: We are led in on the family situations of two of them, who struggle with bad parents, and they are all targeted by the school's violent bullies, led by an intensely hateful Nicholas Hamilton (Captain Fantastic (2016)). It in this way doesn't reflect a philosophy where kids become adults through peaceful progress and appropriation, but rather the opposite: Kids grow into adults through often violent processes, transgressive experiences and frightening realizations, - just as in King's book. One especially transgressive, strange and shocking scene from King's novel, (readers of it probably remember it), is also sacrificed in this adaptation, likely for more than one reason.
Some critics have tried singling out the film as a coming-of-age story, which is mostly merited as a drama, - which is ridiculous. The coming-of-age here is the motor of the horror; the kids' daring and curiosity spark their gory entering into adulthood.
It is gory and filled with spectacular and nightmarish effects that are more appropriate here than was the case in the somewhat overstuffed ending of Muschietti's otherwise scary previous horror, Mama. The sound work is also fierce and affecting.
The group of kids that portray The Losers' Club do well. Relying on so many child performances is tricky, and not everyone is superb all the time, but they generally do very well, and some deserve singling out: Jaeden Lieberher (The Book of Henry (2017)) is the pro in the bunch, and he makes a fine Bill. Jeremy Ray Taylor (Geostorm (2017)) gives a brave and winning performance as the big kid Ben, and Sophia Ellis (37 (2016)) is endearing and powerful as Beverly, who has the worst home situation of the bunch, which the film to its credit doesn't shy away from.
Related posts:
2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2017 in films - according to Film Excess
Mentioned King adaptations: The Shining (1980) - Kubrick's descent into madness is a timeless masterpiece
Carrie (1976) or, Don't Bully the Strange Girl!
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 35 mil. $
Box office: 209.9 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say (but already a huge hit)
[It premiered 29 August (Film4 Frightfest, UK) and runs 135 minutes. Development started in 2009 with David Kajganich slated to direct. Later Cary Fukunaga took over and developed a script that booked Will Poulter as Pennywise and used personal memories from Fukunaga's childhood. But his vision also clashed with New Line's plans, and Muschietti was approached. Filming took place from June - September 2016 in Bangor, Maine and in Ontario, Canada, including in Toronto. Skarsgård was kept away from the shoot for the first weeks and didn't interact much with the child actors during production in order for them to be genuinely scared of him. The film opened #1 to an astonishingly huge 123.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, becoming the biggest horror opening ever as well as the biggest September opening to date. The colossal novel is planned as two films with Muschietti scheduled to return to direct the second film. It is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.2 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of It?
No comments:
Post a Comment