Two decades after the death of son during World War I, the film follows a man who drunkenly creates a wooden boy to cope with his loss as it comes to life where the boy struggles with not just winning his father’s approval but also what it means to live. It is a film that takes the premise of the story of a man who creates a puppet who turns into a boy as it is set in Fascist Italy at a time when conformity and playing to certain rules are in tow which is something that a puppet with no strings is trying to deal with as well as the idea of love and what it means to exist. The film’s screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Patrick McHale is told largely by a cricket in Sebastian J. Cricket (Ewan McGregor) about the titular character (Gregory Mann) and how he had been created by this lonely carpenter in Geppetto (David Bradley) after having lost his son Carlo (Gregory Mann) during an aerial bombing in World War I as he had been ravaged by grief until he cuts down a tree where Cricket was living and turned it into a puppet. It is then where a fairy in the Wood Sprite (Tilda Swinton) would cast a spell for the puppet to come to life while asking Cricket to watch over and guide him.
While Geppetto’s initial encounter with Pinocchio has him confused and frightened as does Pinocchio’s appearance at the town’s local church. Geppetto does what he can to steer Pinocchio the right way but also him wanting to be like Carlo yet there is also pressure from the Podesta (Ron Perlman) who wants Geppetto to ensure that Pinocchio becomes part of the Italian Royal Army upon a major discovery they would have much to Geppetto’s horror. Even as Pinocchio would encounter the failing circus ringmaster Volpe (Christoph Waltz) who would get Pinocchio to sign a contract that would keep him out of the eye of the Podesta but also keep Pinocchio performing in order to keep Geppetto out of debt. It all plays into Pinocchio’s development and his conversations with Cricket as it has him thinking about not just wanting to live but also to find his own voice as he watches the abuse that Volpe has on his longtime assistant monkey Spazzatura (Cate Blanchett) as well as a closer look into the world of Fascist Italy upon being watched by the Podesta at youth training camp.
The direction of del Toro and Mark Gustafson is astonishing in its overall presentation due to the attention to detail that both men put into its look as it is created on studio locations in Portland, Oregon and Guadalajara, Mexico. With Gustafson and his team of animators doing much of the stop-motion work with production designers Guy Davis and Curt Enderle, with set decorators Jesse Gregg, Gillian Hunt, Samantha Levy, Molly Light, Laura Savage, and Zach Sheehan plus art directors Andy Berry, Karla Castaneda, Robert DeSue, and Juan J. Medina, helping to create much of the backdrops in the look of the forests and woods in such grand detail. Even with Davis also creating some of the creatures including Cricket, Spazzatura, and the sea monster for the film’s climax, there is a look that is del Toro in terms of its approach to death as well as horror with the former involving a sequence in which Pinocchio meets a death fairy (Tilda Swinton) in a surrealistic presentation of the afterlife. Since the film is also based on the illustrations of Gris Grimly, del Toro and Gustafson maintain this look that quite wobbly in its presentation as there is a realism to the animation as well as a physicality in how they take this story and set it into a world where there are elements of politics and existentialism in the mix.
Even in a scene where Pinocchio asks his father why people don’t like him but love this model of the crucifixion as it is among these things that Pinocchio would go into. The compositions that del Toro and Gustafson create add to the drama that Pinocchio goes through in the wide and medium shots in a location or in one of Pinocchio’s stage performances as well as close-ups that play into the characters as they cope with whatever situation they’re in. Notably in the climax as it plays into Pinocchio and Geppetto dealing with a sea monster as all of the lessons that Pinocchio would learn allows him to deal with the situations as well as an understanding of both life and death. Overall, del Toro and Gustafson craft an exquisitely moving and ravishing film about a wooden boy who comes to life and learns about existence and identity during the era of Fascist Italy.
Cinematographer Frank Passingham does incredible work with the cinematography as it helps the look of the film give it a sense of physicality in the lighting while helping to set mood to help bring more texture to the production design. Editors Ken Schretzmann and Holly Klein do amazing work with the editing as it is largely straightforward to play into some of the musical numbers but also in some of the dramatic and terrifying moments with its rhythmic cuts. Visual effects supervisors Cameron Carson and Aaron Weintraub do excellent work with the visual effects as it is mainly set dressing for some scenes involving war and fire as it help broaden the visuals. Sound designer Scott Martin Gershin does brilliant work with the sound in the way certain objects sound as well as the way an instrument sounds on a location or how bombs sound from afar. The film’s music by Alexandre Desplat is phenomenal with its rich orchestral score that has elements of lush strings and orchestral pianos themes along with some offbeat percussive-based themes while the soundtrack also feature original songs written by Desplat along with lyrics by del Toro, McHale, and Roeben Katz that add to the drama and humorous moments in the film that are sung by its cast.
The casting by Mary Hidalgo is great as it feature some notable small voice roles from Tom Kenny in a trio of voice performances as a sea captain, a right-hand for Mussolini, and the Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini as well as Tim Blake Nelson as a quartet of black rabbits, John Turturro as a doctor in the small town Geppetto lives in, Burn Gorman as the local priest, Finn Wolfhard as the son of the Podesta in Candlewick who at first bullies Pinocchio only to befriend him late in the film, and Cate Blanchett in a superb voice cameo as Volpe’s monkey assistant Spazzatura who talks through puppets where Blanchett brings unique voices as a monkey who is jealous of Pinocchio only to realize the good in Pinocchio. Tilda Swinton is fantastic in a dual voice role as the magical fairy known as the Wood Sprite and her sister known as Death where Swinton brings different tones to the two characters as they lament on the ideas of both life and death. Ron Perlman is excellent as the Podesta as a Fascist government official who sees Pinocchio at first as a freak only to see that he could become a symbol for the government in their rise while trying to raise his son as a perfect soldier for Fascist Italy.
Christoph Waltz is brilliant as Volpe as a former aristocrat-turned circus ringmaster who sees Pinocchio as a way to get him back into aristocracy as well as a chance to get in the good graces of Mussolini as he brings a charm to this evil character. Ewan McGregor is amazing as Sebastian J. Cricket as the film’s narrator and conscience-of-sorts who tries to steer Pinocchio onto the right path while dealing with being squished and such as well as trying to do what he can where he laments over his role. David Bradley is incredible as Geppetto as a woodcarver/carpenter who laments over the loss of his son as well as dealing with Pinocchio as he is someone ravaged by grief while trying to understand the many flaws of Pinocchio while trying to go on a search for him when Pinocchio joins the circus. Finally, there’s Gregory Mann in a sensational voice performance in the dual role of Carlo and the titular character as he brings an exuberance and innocence to the former as well as an energy into the latter as well as this vulnerability of someone who is just trying to understand the ideas of life and death where Mann brings a lot of life into both of these roles.
Pinocchio is a tremendous film from Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, ravishing art direction, its story of existentialism and identity, amazing character/creature designs, and Alexandre Desplat’s enchanting music score. It is a film that takes a tale told many times but bring something new to it and set it during a tumultuous time in world history as it help play into a wooden boy trying to find himself as well as a physicality that gives the film an edge in its stop-motion animation presentation. In the end, Pinocchio is a magnificent film from Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson.
Guillermo del Toro Films: Cronos - Mimic - The Devil's Backbone - Blade II - Hellboy - Pan's Labyrinth - Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Pacific Rim - Crimson Peak - The Shape of Water - Nightmare Alley (2021 film)
Related: (Pinocchio (1940 film)) - The Auteurs #10: Guillermo del Toro
© thevoid99 2023
Set in a small town in Oklahoma, the film follows a single mother and her two teenage kids who have been evicted from their home in Chicago where they inherited the home of that woman’s father whom she never knew where her kids discovered an event that their grandfather was trying to prevent before his passing. It is a film in which a family doesn’t just discover a legacy this man had left behind but also a chance to finish something that he wanted to prevent in order to save the world. The film’s screenplay by Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan opens with an old man driving out of a cave and waiting for a ghost to arrive at his home and then cut to another city where this woman in Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) has just been evicted from her Chicago apartment as she and her two teenage kids in Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) travel to Summerville, Oklahoma where they live in the home of Callie’s estranged father Egon whom the town refers to as the Dirt Farmer. The script is largely straightforward in its narrative yet it does a lot in exploring not just Callie’s resentment towards her father whom she felt abandoned her but also her two kids who are just trying to find themselves in this new town.
Phoebe is the most compelling of the Spengler kids as she is someone who loves science and is offbeat as she is the first to discover things in her grandfather’s home as it allowed her to get to know who he is. While Trevor isn’t as developed as his younger sister as he’s just a 15-year old kid trying to get a summer job and win over his co-worker in Lucky Domingo (Celeste O’Connor) at drive-in restaurant they work at. He does manage to discover something in the mountain above the cave as well as fix up a car he found in the garage that was the Ecto-1 car the Ghostbusters used in their exploits in the 1980s. The script also play into what Egon is trying to deal with and stop from preventing as it is clear that it related to events that happened in 1984 as Trevor, Phoebe, Lucky, and Phoebe’s classmate Podcast (Logan Kim) try to stop it while Callie is in a subplot where she finds herself fascinated by Phoebe’s science teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) who is a fan of the Ghostbusters as he is suspicious about the earthquakes that is happening in Summerville leading to some big revelations over what everyone has to face.
Reitman’s direction is sprawling in terms of its setting as it is shot on location in areas around Calgary, Alberta in Canada along with a few bits in New York City as it play into a world as if nothing serious is happening though it opens with a chase in which Egon Spengler (Bob Gunton and Ivan Reitman) are awaiting for something to happen only to later be attacked and die of a heart attack. While there are some unique wide shots of the locations that Reitman uses in the film including the scale of Spengler’s farm what he has hidden under his crops. Reitman does maintain an intimacy as well as some style in the medium shots and close-ups that does include moments where Phoebe discovers things about her grandfather as including the ghost trap and the proton pack that her grandfather was updating. There are moments that are funny that involve Phoebe, Podcast, and Gary Grooberson trying to open a ghost trap as well as Grooberson geeking out over the proton pack that Phoebe was using during a chase with Trevor and Podcast.
Reitman definitely creates some callbacks to the previous films that his father helmed but also what happened to the Ghostbusters after the events from the second film and why Spengler went crazy though what Phoebe, Trevor, and eventually Callie discover is that there’s something bigger that is emerging with their old enemy Gozer (Olivia Wilde and Emma Portner, with the voice of Shohreh Aghdashloo) whose arrival in New York City back in 1984 was small compared to what she wanted to do in Summerville. The film’s climax is definitely grand as it doesn’t just have callbacks from the events of 1984 but with much bigger stakes as well as twelve-year-old girl who proves that she too can go against an evil spirit through just sheer will and brains. Especially as the film does serve as a fitting tribute to one of its creators as the film is sort about legacy but also what a parent does for their children. Overall, Reitman crafts a thrilling and enjoyable film about a single mother and her teenage kids finishing up a man’s quest to stop ghosts from creating havoc around the world.
Cinematographer Eric Steelberg does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography in the way many of the daytime locations look in its natural setting along with some elaborating lighting for some of the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editors Dana Glauberman and Nathan Orloff do excellent work with the editing with its stylish approach to fast-cutting for some of the action scenes but also knowing when to slow down in order to have shots linger for a bit including some of the funnier moments in the film. Production designer Francois Audouy and supervising set decorator Peter Lando do amazing work with the look of the Spengler farm with some of its rooms including a secret basement as well as the look of the old Ecto-1 car that is in ruins as well as the look of the Shandor cave in its interiors. Costume designer Danny Glicker does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely casual including the Ghostbuster jumpsuits. Special makeup and live action creature effects designer Arjen Tuiten, as well as Muncher designer Brynn Metheney, does incredible work with the look of Gozer and some of the creatures as well as the Slimer-like creature known as Muncher who can eat metal.
Special effects supervisors Michael Gibney and Elia P. Popov, with visual effects supervisors Michael “Tiny” Alcorn, Sheena Dugal, Alessandro Ongaro, Shirkanth Patil, and Raul Perez, do terrific work with the visual effects in not just using practical effects for some of the design of the monsters and props but also digital effects in the look of the ghosts and a few other bits. Sound editors Will Files and Perry Robertson, along with sound designers Scott Sanders and Chris Terhune, do superb work with the sound as it has some unique sound effects as well as the sound of the Ecto-1 siren and the way the proton pack sounds when it’s on as it help add to the film’s tone. The film’s music by Rob Simonsen is wonderful for its exhilarating orchestral score that has elements of humor and adventure along with somber strings for some of the dramatic moments. The film’s music soundtrack not only features some motifs from the two previous films that was scored by Elmer Bernstein but also music from the Buzzcocks, Funkadelic, Shirley Ellis, the Shirelles, Otis Rush, Willie Nelson, the Delmore Brothers, the Newday, Kelly’s Lot, an original song by Mckenna Grace, and the iconic theme song from the 1984 film by Ray Parker Jr.
The casting by John Papsidera and Ali Safdari is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Tracy Letts as a warehouse store owner, Josh Gad as the voice of Muncher, the trio of Ira Heden, Sarah Natochenny, and Shelby Young as the voices of the mini-Stay Puft marshmallow men, Stella Aykroyd as deputy Medjuck, Bokeem Woodbine as Lucky’s father in Sheriff Domingo, and as the body doubles for Egon Spengler via shadows in Bob Gunton for the opening scene and Ivan Reitman as a stand-in for the ghost version of Spengler with digital effects utilizing the face of the late Harold Ramis. For the role of Gozer, Olivia Wilde brings an un-credited cameo as the physical version of the character with Emma Portner as the spiritual version of Gozer with Shohreh Aghdashloo providing the voice of Gozer as they do terrific work in that character. J.K. Simmons is superb in his cameo as Ivor Shandor as the man who created a temple for Gozer as he is seen as a sleeping body who only wakes up for Gozer.
From the previous films who makes special appearances, the performances of Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz, Bill Murray as Peter Venkman, Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore, Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz, and Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett are an absolute joy to watch in not just being fan service but also playing a key role to the story with exception of Weaver whose cameo appears in a comical post-credit scene that is a call-back to Venkman’s exploits as a professor with Weaver being the one in control. Still, Aykroyd, Murray, Hudson, and Potts do help bring important moments that are inspirational to the younger cast but also set the seeds for a possible future. Paul Rudd is fantastic as Gary Grooberson as a science teacher who teaches at summer school who is also a geek for the Ghostbusters while is also someone who notices how smart Phoebe is where he would have an unfortunate encounter with a ghost. Celeste O’Connor is excellent as Lucky Domingo as a 16/17-year old girl who works at a restaurant as she befriends Trevor while also helps them in dealing with ghosts as she proves to be tough and resourceful.
Logan Kim is brilliant as Podcast as Phoebe’s new classmate who is fascinated by the paranormal and other strange things as he has a podcast of his own while also taking part in many adventures in chasing ghosts. Carrie Coon is amazing as Callie Spengler as the estranged daughter of Egon as she is just dealing with the chaos in her life as well as resentment towards her father where she would discover things about him in why he was never around. Finn Wolfhard is incredible as Trevor Spengler as a 15-year old kid who knows how to fix cars and such as he is trying to figure himself out where he takes part in the fun of catching ghosts as a way to get to know his grandfather while also realizing something bad is happening in Summerville. Finally, there’s Mckenna Grace in a phenomenal performance as Phoebe Spengler as the 12-year old granddaughter of Egon Spengler who is a total nerd that loves science and is always smarter than a lot of people older than her. It is a performance that is filled with humor as she says some bad jokes while also proving she is a lot more powerful and determined to kick some ass as it is a major breakthrough for Grace.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a sensational film from Jason Reitman that features great performances from Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd. Along with its supporting cast including people from the previous films, dazzling visual effects, a compelling story on loss and legacy, an exhilarating music soundtrack, and its sense of adventure. It is a film that isn’t just something fans of the film series from the 1980s would enjoy for its callbacks but it is also a film that offers something new while being a tribute to two of its creators in Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman. In the end, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a spectacular film from Jason Reitman.
Jason Reitman Films: Thank You for Smoking - Juno - Up in the Air - Young Adult - Labor Day - (Men, Women, & Children) – Tully (2018 film)
- The Front Runner
Related: (Ghostbusters) – (Ghostbusters II) – Ghostbusters (2016 film) - The Auteurs #30: Jason Reitman
© thevoid99 2022
The film revolves around events in Derry, Maine where the group of seven kids, who confronted the clown Pennywise, known as the Losers have returned 27 years later following events involving mysterious murders in the town committed by Pennywise. It’s a film that has these adults not only fulfill an oath to return to Derry to defeat Pennywise once and for all but also to confront some demons. Gary Dauberman’s screenplay opens with the beating of a gay couple as one of them would be killed by Pennywise as it leads to Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs as a teenager/Isaiah Mustafa as an adult) to call the rest of the Losers. Dauberman’s script does a lot to establish the stakes and what the Losers must do but some of the execution and plot-pointing unfortunately leads to a messy narrative. Notably in a few flashbacks where some of the losers deal with moments from their past but also blur the idea of whether it’s a memory or a fantasy recreated as their younger selves. It gets confusing while some of the back story about Pennywise’s origins are confusing as well with Hanlon being the one to research everything in how to kill him once and for all.
Muschietti’s direction does have some style in its compositions and approach to suspense while also play into the idea of memory and nightmares. Shot on location at the Manitoba province in Canada with some of it shot in Toronto as Maine and New York City. Muschietti also dwell into the events that these characters have to cope with as he uses wide shots to get a scope of the locations including some of the nightmares they all have to deal with. The medium shots and close-ups that Muschietti uses to play into the interaction with the characters such as their reunion scene at a Chinese restaurant where it starts off fun but then becomes scary. This approach to wanting to be funny, dramatic, and serious is where the film does have tonal issues where Muschietti wants the film to be a lot of things but it never gets a balanced tone while there are other things in the film that never gets fully explained. Notably the character of Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton/Teach Grant) who is aided by the dead body of his friend Patrick (Owen Teague) as that is never fully explained.
Despite the messy elements in the film’s second act where it is bogged down by lots of exposition, Muschietti does manage to get things going for its third act with the climatic showdown between the Losers and Pennywise. It is a grand sequence that has a lot at stake but also forcing people to relieve their nightmares as well as confront their own guilt from the past as children. It is a sequence that has a lot going on while its aftermath does go a bit overlong at times though it’s quaint in comparison to some of the events in the second act. Overall, Muschietti crafts a riveting though flawed film about a group of adults who reunite to destroy a mysterious clown who terrorized them as kids 27 years ago.
Cinematographer Checco Varese does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of low-key lights for many of the interior/exterior scenes set at night to help maintain the eerie mood of the film. Editor Jason Ballantine does terrific work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few stylish cuts to play into the suspense and horror. Production designer Paul D. Austerberry, with set decorators Crystal North and Shane Vieau plus art director Nigel Churcher, does amazing work in not just the look of Derry but also the places the Losers go to as it play into their nightmares. Costume designer Luis Sequeira does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the Losers wearing casual clothing.
Hair designer Stephanie Ingram, along with makeup designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., does brilliant work with the look of a few of the adult characters as well as the look of Pennywise. Special effects supervisor Kristy Hollidge and visual effect supervisor Nicholas Brooks do superb work with the visual effects from the look of Pennywise in his different incarnations to the design of some of the demons the Losers face. Sound designers Erick Ocampo, Randy Torres, and Bill R. Dean, with sound editor Nancy Nugent, do incredible work with the sound as it help play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as sound effects to create some suspense. The film’s music by Benjamin Wallfisch is wonderful for its eerie orchestral score that helps build up some of the film’s suspense and drama while its music soundtrack features pieces from Juice Newton, Cameo, and New Kids on the Block.
The casting by Rich Delia is marvelous as it feature notable small roles and appearances from Stephen King as a pawn shop owner, filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich as himself, Jess Weixler as Bill’s actress wife Audra, Juno Rinaldi and Megan Charpentier in respective roles as the older and younger version of Gretta, Will Beinbrick as Bev’s abusive husband Tom Rogan, Martha Girvin as Stan’s wife Patty, Xavier Dolan and Taylor Frey as a gay couple who are attacked by a gang early in the film with the former being a victim of Pennywise, Molly Atkinson in a dual role as Eddie’s mother and his wife, Luke Roesseler as a young boy Bill encountered in the second act, Ryan Keira Armstrong as a young girl with a strange birthmark on her face, Owen Teague as the dead corpse of Bowers’ friend Patrick, Jackson Robert Scott as Bill’s late younger brother George, and Teach Grant and Nicholas Hamilton in their respective roles as the older and younger version of the bully Henry Bowers with the former being a total psychopath hell bent on revenge towards the Losers. Bill Skarsgard is fantastic as Pennywise as the clown who terrorizes kids though he is hampered by the fact that he’s underused and not much information about who he really is emerges.
Andy Bean and Wyatt Oleff are terrific in their respective roles as the older and younger version of Stan Uris as the former appears briefly as the adult version who is the one person who doesn’t return mainly because he has a plan that would help the Losers with the former being the nerdy Jewish kid who starts to find his own path. James Ransone and Jack Dylan Grazer are superb in their respective versions of the adult and younger version of Eddie Kaspbrak as hypochondriac who still has issues but also comes to terms that he must face Pennywise while also finding a sense of humor. Jay Ryan and Jeremy Ray Taylor are excellent in their respective roles as the adult and younger version of Ben Hanscom as the latter is the fat yet resourceful kid with a crush on Bev while the former is a fit adult who still pines for Bev despite his success as an architect as he is eager to fight Pennywise. Isaiah Mustafa and Chosen Jacobs are brilliant in their respective role as Mike Hanlon as the one person who stayed in Derry to study on Pennywise and how to defeat as he would bring everyone together while figuring out how it could be done.
Bill Hader and Finn Wolfhard are amazing in their respective versions of Richie Tozier with Hader being the comedian who is reluctant to return as he copes with his own issues while he’s still a foul-mouthed and witty person like Wolfhard’s role as the young Tozier. James McAvoy and Jaeden Martell are incredible in their respective versions as the older and younger Bill Denbrough as the former is now a successful author who still has creative issues as he is eager to stop Pennywise while dealing with other issues that he still has as the latter. Finally, there’s Jessica Chastain and Sophia Lillis in a phenomenal performances as their respective versions of the adult and younger version of Bev Marsh with the latter being in a troubled marriage as well as admitting that she has some strange visions that she attained as the former.
It Chapter Two is a stellar film from Andy Muschietti. Despite its messy script, 169-minute running time, and inconsistent tone, the film is still a fascinating horror film thanks in parts to its ensemble cast and study of fear. In the end, It Chapter Two is a fine film from Andy Muschietti.
It Chapter One
© thevoid99 2020
Based on the novel by Stephen King, It is the story of seven children who are terrorized by a mysterious clown as they deal with their fears. Directed by Andy Muschietti and screenplay by Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman, and Chase Palmer, the film is a horror film that play into the disappearance of children where seven of them try to find out who has been abducting them. Starring Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Nicholas Hamilton, and Jackson Robert Scott. It is a riveting and intense film from Andy Muschietti.
Set in the late 1980s in a small town in Maine, the film revolves a series of disappearances that occur where a group of kids deal with this mysterious clown who feeds on the fear of children where seven misfits decide to confront the clown. It’s a film that play into these disappearances that has been going on for months as much of the story set in the small town of Derry, Maine in the summer of 1989 has these seven kids coping with what is happening as one of them believes that it relates to strange events in this town that occurs every 27 years. The film’s screenplay opens with an incident months earlier on October of 1988 where a young boy is chasing a paper sailboat where it falls into a storm drain where he sees this clown in Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgard) and is never seen again.
For that boy’s older brother in Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher), he is consumed with guilt over what happened as he is determined to find out what happened to his little brother with the help of his friends in the foul-mouthed Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), the hypochondriac Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Glazer), and the Jewish mysophobe Stan Uris (Wyatt Olef) who are eager to have fun in the summer despite the presence of bullies that is led by the sociopathic Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton). Denbrough later meet up with one of the new kids in town in the bookworm Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor) following a violent encounter with Bowers as they’re later joined by another outcast in Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis) who some believe is a promiscuous teenager that is disliked but is really a victim of sexual abuse from her father. During their investigation and finding answers in which Hanscom believes it all relates to incidents in the town that happened every 27 years. The group would include another outcast in the African-American homeschooled kid Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs) who also sees strange things like the other kids that would play into their fears.
Andy Muschietti’s direction definitely owes a lot to films of the 1980s that involve kids embarking on their adventures yet it has elements that play into something that feels more grounded into the situation they’re in. Shot on various locations in Ontario as well as bits of Toronto as it play into this small town world where everyone kind of knows each other although Hanscom is still a newcomer who baffle librarians due to his interest towards books rather than do what other kids do during the summer. Muschietti definitely infuses that element of nostalgia that is prevalent as it is set mainly in the summer of 1989 where kids would go see the big summer movies of the time or go to an arcade. Muschietti’s usage of the wide shots would play into the vast look of the locations but also in scenes that play into the air of horror that includes the film’s climax involving Pennywise’s secret lair.
Muschietti would also use medium shots and close-ups that play into the interaction with characters that include the boys’ fascination towards Beverly as it adds to their fascination towards girls. Still, it’s an innocent moment despite the awful reputation Beverly has received forcing her to reveal some truths about herself while there are moments in the film that do have elements of humor. Muschietti also play into these chilling moments of violence that relates to the fear of these characters as it include scenes of each fear these seven kids have. Some of it is taken to great extremes while others are psychological as it would lead to this climax of the seven kids going into Pennywise’s lair to confront him but also confront their own fears. Overall, Muschietti crafts an evocative yet unsettling film about a group of outcast kids dealing with a mysterious clown who feeds on the fear of children.
Cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung does amazing work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of stylish lights for some of the interior settings in the day and night where it has a certain tone to it as well as exterior scenes set on a rainy day or at night as it help play into the sense of terror. Editor Jason Ballatine does excellent work with the editing as it uses rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense and horror. Production designer Claude Pare, with set decorator Rosalie Broad plus art directors Brandt Gordon and Peter Grundy, does brilliant work with the look of the mysterious house where Pennywise supposedly lives as well as his lair and the homes of the other characters in the film. Costume designer Janie Bryant does fantastic work with the costumes as it play into casual look of the kids without the need to establish too much of what kids wore in the 1980s.
Makeup designers Alec Gillis, Sean Sansom, and Tom Woodruff Jr. do incredible work with the look of Pennywise to create that air of creepiness and terror. Special effects supervisor Warren Appleby and visual effects supervisor Nicholas Brooks do terrific work with the visual effects with some of the movements of Pennywise as well as parts of his lair that play into its air of intrigue. Sound designer Paul Hackner and sound editor Victor Ray Ennis do superb work with the sound as it help play into the atmosphere of the suspense as well as in some of the chilling moments for the horror set pieces. The film’s music by Benjamin Wallfisch is wonderful for its orchestral-based score that does have elements of synthesizers to play up to the feel of the 1980s while using heavy string arrangements to amplify the suspense and horror while music supervisor Dana Sano creates a fun soundtrack featuring a wide array of music from the Cult, Young MC, XTC, New Kids on the Block, Anvil, the Cure, and Anthrax.
The casting by Rich Delia is remarkable as it feature some notable small roles from Stephen Bogaert as Beverly’s father, Molly Atkinson as Eddie’s worrisome mother, Geoffrey Pounsett and Pip Dwyer as Bill and Georgie’s parents, Stuart Hughes as Officer Butch Bowers who is the father of the bully Henry Bowers, Steven Williams as Mike’s stern grandfather Leroy, Ari Cohen as Stan’s rabbi father, Joe Bostick as the local pharmacist Mr. Keene, Megan Charpentier as Mr. Keene’s daughter Gretta who bullies Beverly, the trio of Owen Teague, Logan Thompson, and Jake Sim as friends of Henry Bowers who are also bullies, and Jackson Robert Scott as Bill’s younger brother Georgie who would be the first to be captured by Pennywise in a chilling moment of the film that is intense to watch. Nicholas Hamilton is terrific as the school bully Henry Bowers as a sociopathic kid with a penchant for violence as he likes to terrorize others for how different they are including Mike because he’s an outcast.
In the roles of the group of outcast kids known as the Losers, there’s Wyatt Oleff in a superb performance as the Jewish mysophobic Stan Uris as a kid who is afraid of a lot of things including a painting that comes to life as his biggest fear while Jack Dylan Grazer is fantastic as the hypochondriac Eddie Kaspbrak who doesn’t like germs and is allergic to a lot of things as he would have an encounter with Pennywise that is scary while coming to grips with his fears. Chosen Jacobs is excellent as the homeschooled student Mike Hanlon as an African-American kid who delivers meat to stores as he is among the first to see Pennywise while dealing with Bowers. Finn Wolfhard is brilliant as Richie Tozier as a foul-mouthed kid in big glasses who says nasty things while admitting to having a fear of clowns while Jeremy Ray Taylor is amazing as the new kid Ben Hanscom as a bookworm who gathers a lot of the information of the town as he believes something terrible is the reason for these disappearances.
Sophia Lillis is incredible as Beverly Marsh as a teenage girl who is given a seedy reputation in the town which is untrue as she deals with the abuse she receives from her father while she helps the boys in dealing with Pennywise. Jaeden Lieberher is marvelous as Bill Denbrough as a teenager who is trying to find the whereabouts of his little brother while learning about Pennywise as he is the leader of the Losers in some respects in his determination to find truth and make sure no more disappearances happen. Finally, there’s Bill Skarsgard in a phenomenal performance as Pennywise as this dancing clown that is the manifestation of the fears of children where he lives for those fears where it’s a small yet effective performance that has Skarsgard play up to the air of terror that he brings in the film.
It is a sensational film from Andy Muschietti. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, uncompromising approach to violence and terror, a chilling music score, and a compelling premise set in the late 1980s. It’s a film that is definitely bear many of the horror tropes expected from the mind of Stephen King while also studying the idea of fear, guilt, and confrontation of those things from the perspective of seven kids who don’t fit in with the ideas of society. In the end, It is a spectacular film from Andy Muschietti.
It-Chapter Two
© thevoid99 2018
