Movie Breakdown: IT (Noah)
Pre-Screening Stance:
I saw IT in 3rd grade a week after an arm break. I dreamt that Pennywise the Clown (the film’s villain) waited at the top of my childhood home’s stairs with an axe. It’s the only dream from my childhood (outside of a recurring one featuring Pinhead and a talking Buddha statue) that I can remember. So, yeah, I’d say I’m excited.
Post-Screening Ramble:
After the abysmal The Dark Tower, we all have to admit to being nervous about IT. Sure, the trailers have been spot-on, the iconic Pennywise (as played by Bill Skarsgard in the film) seems suitably creepy and the early reviews have been strong. But this is Hollywood, the puncturing spear of cinematic dreams. I would like to tell you, IT is a very good, if not almost great film. The story of six kids in Derry, Maine at the tail end of the 1980s, squaring off against a demonic force in clown form is beautifully shot and genuinely scary throughout. Director Andy Muschetti doesn’t pull punches, offing Georgie in gruesome fashion within the first 10 minutes of the film. It’s a good choice as you’re fully aware that Muschetti can, and will, kill off his youthful protagonists, making Pennywise’s deranged threats all the more real. And Pennywise’s threats, in the form of the kid’s greatest fears, are consistently terrifying. Muschetti mixes CG and practical effects to great effect, with all of the various creepy-crawlies – the leper is a particularly chilling baddie – oozing with realism. The kid actors are uniformly good – Finn Wolfhard’s Richie is a mile-a-minute shit talker, and Sophia Lillis embodies Bev as an old soul in a damaged, youthful body – and as the film rushes towards its ending, you worry about their individual fates. And the film does rush. The source material for the film runs nearly 1,000 pages, and even adapting just half of it is a monumental effort. You feel it in the lack of character development in characters like Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor, who’s great in his limited role) and Mike (Chosen Jacobs, who could’ve been cut with little notice) as well as a few glossed over plot jumps. All in all though, it’s Bill Skarsgard’s show. His Pennywise epitomizes evil. From the first peek at his jacked up rabbit teeth and glowing yellow eyes, you’re terrified of him, and it only gets worse from there. I couldn’t have asked for more from an adaptation of this work. Muschetti has announced himself as a filmmaker to keep an eye on, and I’m more than excited that he’s been picked to helm both the sequel and the Locke & Key television series coming to Hulu.
One Last Thought:
The fact that this is great makes my whole summer.
