YOU’LL FLOAT TOO.
In 1989, the small town of Derry is haunted by the disappearance of several children; a group of young teenagers realize that a monster who takes on the shape of a clown is responsible… Stephen King’s novel spanned almost thirty years, but this feature film adaptation focuses solely on the protagonists as children, battling Pennywise the Dancing Clown and all his terrifying incarnations. Very much a a horror film, with decent scares from the Mama director, but also an engaging and even touching portrait of childhood that echoes Stand by Me (1986) and the TV series Stranger Things. Dark and sweet, with a both childish and frightening performance by Bill Skarsgård as the clown.
2017-U.S. 135 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Barbara Muschietti. Directed by Andy Muschietti. Screenplay: Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman. Novel: Stephen King. Cast: Jaeden Lieberher (Bill Denbrough), Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ben Hanscom), Sophia Lillis (Beverly Marsh), Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer… Bill Skarsgård.
Trivia: Fukunaga was originally going to direct the film; Hugo Weaving and Will Poulter were considered for the part of Pennywise. The novel was previously filmed as a miniseries, It (1990). Followed by It: Chapter Two (2019).
Last word: “I was basically hoping for someone who would surprise me in any way. I had a pre-existing criteria of someone who looked childlike, and that’s where Bill came in. And I remember I was sort of interested in Will Poulter. He was part of a previous approach, and I had a meeting with him. He wasn’t very interested in doing it at that time. And also his career was starting to take off and I think he got a little scared. So to be honest, I saw a lot of people, but there was very few, a small short list, and Bill was on top of it.” (Muschietti on looking for his Pennywise, Collider)
