So the other night I went to go see It: Chapter Two
and… I’m conflicted with how I think of the film. I don’t plan to make film
reviews a big part of this blog… partly because what I want to do is talk about
films without worrying that someone reading what I’m going to write has
spoilers. So spoiler warning to anyone who will be prospectively looking to
watch this film… this is not the entry to read if you don’t want to be spoiled
of key plot points.
So
that being said, I generally liked the film. I read the book for the first time
in high school and didn’t read it again until years later after part one of
this duology came out. Despite the awkward parts such as the “display of
affection” we’ll call it, It probably
is my favourite novel by Stephen King in spite of its length.
Let
me make this clear to anyone who has decided that they don’t need to read the
book now that they’ve seen the films: these timelines are far different from
the book. The timelines being told separately instead of intertwined; the 50’s
to 80’s setting for the kids; the Ritual of Chud; I could go on but know that
whilst this is definitely an adaptation of the novel it is not a one-to-one
translation of it from book to screen in so many respects. I don’t hold this,
in and of itself, against the film. After all adaptations require you to decide
what worked in in one medium and won’t work in another. I encourage you to read
the book if you want to experience the story the way that it was intended.
Instead
of reviewing the film in full I wanted to list off some of the things I liked
and some of the things I didn’t so you can see where I, as a big fan of the
novel and previous film, stand.
Dislike: No Maturin
Maturin
is one of the book’s aspects that I’ve found people who haven’t read it think
you’re joking about. Maturin, the giant turtle with wide connections to the
rest of King’s Macroverse and directly involved with the creation of It, didn’t
feature in the film despite earlier reports suggesting that he would be
present. Hearing that he was going to be present, and then not bringing him in,
was disappointing. Yeah I bet a lot of people would have been surprised at a
space turtle suddenly being introduced when it’s a film trying to be taken
seriously and when I mentioned it to my flatmate after having seen the film she
was determined that it would have “been a lot of kack”.
Here’s
the thing though… the film already has some silly elements. The way they beat
Pennywise is insulting? The convenient drug hallucination? The clown torso on a
spider body? I fail to see how Maturin was too much. I turned to my friend, a
fellow King lover, when Ben went back to school and there was a turtle figure
and said “if Maturin doesn’t make it, that’s such a tease”. Well consider me
teased.
Maturin
is a weird part of the book, but he was part of King’s original work and you
can’t tell me that having Bill or Richie reacting to him in the film
(particularly with the actors cast) would not have been one of the absolute
highlights. The general audience members would have felt that it was weird?
Considering some of the alternative choices made that I saw elicit an “oh
please” reaction, I fail to see how the giant space turtle was too far.
#releasethematurincut
Like: The Cast
The
child actors from the first film were all fantastic, with Finn Wolfhard and
Jack Dylan Grazer being the standouts for me. If the child actors had been bad
I don’t think the film would have been praised in the slightest: the film rests
on them and they carry it. The casting for the adult ‘Losers’ was going to be
an essential aspect to this film working at all and I’m happy to report that I
liked them all.
Whilst
I was disappointed that Jason Bateman wasn’t cast as Bill (I still think he
would have been the perfect choice for the role), James McAvoy continues to
demonstrate that he is one of the most diverse actors working today. Jessica
Chastain was unsurprisingly great because honestly when isn’t she. The actors
playing Ben, Eddie and Stan were all good as well. The one I was most unsure of
was Mike because I thought I was not going to be able to get over it being “The
Old Spice Guy” but he was vulnerable enough to be completely convincing in the
role.
Every
review I’ve come across has praised Bill Hader in particular for his role as
Richie Tozier and speaking as someone who declared that he should play adult
Richie immediately after I saw the first film… he delivered on absolutely
everything for the character. Between this and Barry I’m baffled that Bill
Hader is still not the A-List actor that he deserves to be.
Dislike: The Length
The
length, in and of itself, wasn’t a problem. The book is over 1,000 pages so to
condense it into two average length films would have resulted in an
unsatisfactory adaptation. For this reason, the decision to effectively split
the two timelines (adults and kids) was a good idea, allowing the first film to
serve as a standalone 80’s adventure film in a similar vain to Stranger Things. The fact that the two
films together are five hours (this film alone being more than half of that
runtime) is not the problem. My problem is that it was long and there were
things that would have been better fitted in the bloated run time.
For
every great scene involving Pennywise (see my next like) there was a formulaic
one. The entirety of the Artefacts search was the same: Reminder of why this
means something to them; jump scare; interaction with Pennywise and his
alternate forms; escape and comments about how scary. I get that it’s meant to
be the characters overcoming their individual fears and past, but it became
really predictable. Eddie for example has a run-in with the Leper from the
first film and it got to the point where not only did I know what was coming,
but I was able to correctly predict the exact location where the Leper was
going to come out and jump scare from. When I’m thinking more about the
mechanics of how you are trying to scare me, instead of being genuinely
invested in the scene, the scene just serves to pad the runtime.
You
could have cut out Henry Bowers entirely. He is involved in both timelines in
the original book… but his arc had been written in such a way in the first film
that he could have easily not been in this second film. For those that don’t
remember, he ends up falling down the well towards Pennywise at the end of the
first film. They show where he ended up but it would have been so easy to just
show his dead body or a missing person poster and cut him out. His scenes just
inflated the run time and removing them would have either made the film more
streamlined or given you more time for the Losers themselves.
Like: The Hall of Mirrors Scene
Even
knowing that Bill was not going to be able to save the kid he was trying to
save from Pennywise, the scene was tense. What made it work more than the other
set-pieces was the disorientation. It’s preceded by clown dummies going back
and forth and knocking Bill over. I’d be shocked if the similar look and feel
of The Killing Joke was coincidence.
I’ve
never been in a proper hall of mirrors. I’ve been in the small ones that you
get at a tiny fair sure, but they were very linear… probably so deliberately so
that kids didn’t get lost and scared in there. This scene nailed the
disorientation that I’m sure people go through when they’re in a hall of
mirrors. It added to the tension because it’s not like Bill could have simply
run faster and reached the kid. It increased the feelings of both urgency and
panic, making it one of the best thrilling scenes I’ve seen in a long time.
Dislike: Stan
So
the actor playing Stan was good for the short time he was present. The
character’s adult version is not a big presence in the book so this is not a
criticism of the film. What really got me annoyed was how they changed his
motivation. In the book, and the set up from the original film, Stan is the
distant character. He has what seems to be an underlying disdain for Bill and
is the weakest of the group… which says a lot considering Eddie. His decision
to kill himself rather than face It is a major aspect of the character: unlike
the rest of the characters who eventually learn to overcome their fear and come
together, Stan has to decide whether to break his promise or face his fears… to
which he eventually gives in. It’s a great dynamic and makes for great drama
with the other characters: was the promise to remain pointless and if Stan saw
it fit to go back on his promise, why shouldn’t they?
In
this film they make his suicide a selfless act for the benefit of his old
friends which for me was trying too hard to make the character more likeable.
Early in the film Bill comments about his endings not being happy because “life
isn’t like that” and I wish the film had reflected that instead of trying to
make each character’s ending happy. I just don’t think that it was necessary. I
know people might say that they needed all of the Losers to be involved in the
killing of It… but we already got the scene where Richie gets inspired to fight
with his friends after being inspired by Stan’s words at his Bar Mitzvah. It
would have been far more powerful for the Losers to know that whilst Stan was
selfish in his suicide anyone of them could have done the same and acknowledge
it as a human response. Narratively I simply could not get behind it.
Like: Richdie
Despite
liking the film I found it far easier to list things I disliked in the film
than I didn’t. In my last dislike I mentioned the change in the book regarding
Stan. I’ve always been one to allow changes from the book that make sense, and
the change that stood out to me was the relationship between Richie and Eddie.
We don’t get confirmation as to how physical the relationship was, or even if
Eddie specifically reciprocated Richie’s feelings. The thing is… that worked
for the film. Richie’s sexuality that he hid from the group was vague and
considering that in-universe it was the secret he didn’t want getting out
there, it makes sense that there was no revelation as to what it meant. When
he’s crying at the end (masterful acting by Hader) you gauge just how much he
cared for Eddie. It was done so well and let you make your own inferences. The
scene would have been jeopardised if there was a monologue explaining it, and
I’m glad they restrained themselves.
Concluding Thoughts:
It was always going to be a very
difficult book to adapt to film or TV. Considering the sheer length of it, as
well as content that varies from abstract to questionable we were never going
to get a literal translation of the book to the screen. Despite my
disappointment that I didn’t get to see Maturin, the films need to be judged on
their own merits and not how loyal it was to every story point from the books.
Where
these films (mostly) succeed is in the presentation of It as a playful and powerful foe, and the believable friendship for
its cast of characters. Differences in the story aside, the strength and
chemistry of the cast carried the spirit of the novel to leave me a satisfied
watcher.
I
have no doubt that we will eventually get another adaptation of the book 10 to
20 years from now because of the nature of Hollywood and modern day
storytelling. Pennywise is just far too well-known in pop culture to let the
role end here. I’ve heard the director suggest that there is far more mythology
which could be used in a prequel story which would hopefully include Maturin…
but who knows if general audiences will show up for it. Truth be told though, I
doubt we’ll get that story.
We
live in a world where Lord of the Rings
is getting an Amazon series again which is set in the world of Middle-Earth and
may/may not be an adaptation of the books it is named after. When studios are
far more happy to try to force The Hobbit
to be The Lord of the Rings instead
of adapting The Silmarillion, I don’t
there’s enough perceived sufficient interest to tell the more risky stories.
These
particular versions of It came about
because of the nostalgia craze for the 1980’s and was met with the same success
and applause that greeted Stranger Things.
The first film worked out splendid and the second one had mixed results, but
I’m fond of the two films and think that these are the best adaptations we are
ever going to get of the book. And, if I’m being completely honest, I’d rather
we leave this story here. Release any footage available of Maturin, and let’s
give other horror stories that haven’t had their pop culture shot a chance.
#wheresmaturin