Plot and Structure
It takes place in a fictional town, Derry, that has a history of accidents. The opening sequence depicts an elder brother, Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), making a paper boat for Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott). The latter, dressed in a yellow raincoat, takes the boat and sails it on puddles until the toy is lost in the sewers. The boy tries to get it and meets a clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård), who lives in the sewers. Even though the clown pretends to be kind, he is a monster that catches and kills Georgie (It). Eight months later, the film introduces all the other significant characters. Spectators meet the four friends, including Bill, rooster Richie (Finn Wolfhard), Stanley (Wyatt Oleff) with an overprotective mother, and Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) (It). The film considers Mike (Chosen Jacobs), an African-American, who is working in a slaughterhouse, Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), a shy and overweight guy, and Beverly (Sophia Lillis), a red-haired tomboy with an abusive father. All these characters become friends and call themselves the Losers’ Club.
All the characters above are schoolchildren with various fears, and Pennywise knows it. After a while, the heroes start seeing different horror events, including the walking dead, monsters, and other dreadful phenomena. Soon, the heroes notice that missing children are a common problem in Derry, and Ben discovers that the town has a rich history of such accidents. Ben describes that a row of tragic accidents occurs once in 27 years, and the heroes understand that an evil monster lives in a well house where all the town sewers meet. When Pennywise kidnaps Beverly, Bill convinces everyone to overcome their fears to put their lives at risk and save their friend from the monster. The boys descend into the sewers and meet their strongest nightmares. Eventually, they manage to overcome their fears, join their efforts, and kill Pennywise. One of the final scenes depicts the heroes gathered near the river, and everyone promises to come back if the monster returns. The movie ends when Bill and Beverly are alone and kiss each other.
Structurally, the film unfolds in a linear manner, and the events take place in 1989. This movie follows a classical paradigm because the plot is focuses on the monster and finding a way to destroy it. The exposition is long since it refers to nightmares and horrors that the boys and Beverly experienced during the movie. Even though the film is full of tense episodes, the climax occurs when the characters are in the sewers and defeat Pennywise. The final scene with the swearing allows spectators to understand that the continuation of the story is expected.
Themes
The given film comments on various essential themes, and the first of them refers to the necessity to face fears. Every person, especially children and teenagers, has some fears, and Pennywise perfectly knows and uses them. That is why the film demonstrates that people should do their best to face and overcome their nightmares. The perfect example of this statement happens with Bill when he, while in the sewers, meets the clown in the appearance of Georgie. Bill was afraid that Georgie’s death was his guilt, but when he understood that it was not true, he dared to shoot the monster. The second theme refers to emphasizing the importance of friendship and a team. Heavy.com presents an extensive collection of film reviews, and one of them states that the theme above is central in It (McGregor). This topic manifests itself in Bill’s words: “if we split up like last time, that clown will kill us one by one” (It). Finally, the film focuses on adolescents and depicts adults as indifferent to the problem to demonstrate that a person’s maturity does not depend on their age.
Figurative Techniques/Symbolism
A horror movie is considered successful and effective if it manages to keep the spectators in suspense throughout the entire film. In It, this effect is achieved with the help of a significant motif. In particular, Pennywise is ubiquitous and knows the fears of everyone. Pepler, a cinema reviewer that publishes his thoughts on the High on Films resource, also draws attention to this fact and stipulates that this motif represents that Pennywise lives within every person. Thus, all people should be ready to face their fears and overcome them.
Simultaneously, it is worth admitting that a red balloon is among the most prominent symbols of the movie. A founder of a film salon stipulates that the appearance of this item on the screen demonstrates that a demonic clown is approaching or already presents (Gemmill). For example, when Ben followed a red balloon in the library, he met a headless monster (It). This fact denotes that every time when spectators witness a red balloon, they understand that something terrible is going to happen. Moreover, when they see this object in real life, they are likely to recall It.
Characterization and Performance
Even though each member of the Losers’ Club is significant in the movie, Bill bears the greatest importance. Bill’s performance is brilliant and the most meaningful in a sequence of scenes when the characters are in the sewers, and Bill meets Pennywise in the appearance of Georgie. Bill is firstly scared and sorrowful, but he becomes bold and courageous when he understands that he is under the control of his fear. Furthermore, this character reveals his best qualities when he asks his friends to go so that the clown can take him and stop killing others.
Pennywise is the second significant character, and the same sequence of scenes helps analyze its performance. While he is aggressive and self-confident in the beginning, the teenagers manage to defeat the clown, and it is miserable and helpless in the end. Professional artistic skills help the actors to perform the roles, demonstrate these changes, and impact spectators. Finally, one should add that the film does not have any well-known stars, which denotes that there is no effect of individual stars on the movie and its perception. One should add that young characters have depth and perfectly interact with one another on the screen (Marshall). All these facts denote that performance is an advantage of the movie.
Dialogue
Specific quotations from the film can help make sure that the themes presented above are central. On the one hand, it is possible to look at Bill’s words when he tries to convince Stanley to descend into the sewers. Bill said the following:
Stan, we all have to go. Beverly was right. If we split up like last time, that clown will kill us one by one. But if we stick together, all of us, we’ll win (It).
This quotation is significant because it helps the spectators understand that friendship and mutual aid are essential values that the movie wants to promote.
Pennywise was an author of another set of words that are essential for analyzing the film. The following dialogue occurred between Pennywise and Beverly in the sewers:
Beverly: Let him go!
Pennywise: No! I’ll take him. I’ll take all of you. And I’ll feast on your flesh as I feed on your fear. Or, you’ll just leave us be. I will take him, only him, and then I will have my long rest (It).
A film reviewer from the Straight from a Movie resource supports the suggestion that the clown uses people’s fear to survive and wants separate the Loser’s Club to kill them one by one (Scottshak). These two quotations demonstrate that Bill is right and that Pennywise understands its inability to fight with all these teenagers. Consequently, the audience can read these lines to understand why Pennywise scares, kidnaps, and kills children and how it is possible to overcome this monster.
Cinematography
Chung Chung-hoon was responsible for the cinematography of It, and the professional successfully coped with the task of making a notable and exciting film that was more than a regular horror. On the one hand, the film contains many panoramic views of the river and the town, which makes spectators forget that it is a scary film. For example, the best example of this approach is found when the friends are jumping from high rocks into water (It). A bird’s eye view angle is used to depict the height and make spectators believe that they are jumping with the Losers’ Club. Simultaneously, an extreme long shot was used to depict the teenagers on the rock. A different cinematographic technique would not convey the feeling that the characters were alone.
On the other hand, one cannot deny that It is the most honorable for its scary scenes. As admitted in many reviews, numerous close-ups of Pennywise are horrific and set the mood of the entire film (Bowler). One of such close-ups is found when Bill meets Georgie in his basement, and Pennywise appears from under the water. This and all the other close-ups are perfectly used to demonstrate that the clown is a dreadful monster, and his abnormally-shaped head, yellow eyes, and terrific smile contribute to this feeling.
Visual Design
It is also impossible to deny that the film features effective visual design. A reviewer from Vox highlights the significance of the opening sequence when Georgie meets Pennywise (Romano). It is reasonable to look at the scene to analyze the film’s visual analysis. This scene uses faded colors that are almost black and white, but Georgie’s yellow raincoat is a perfect accent to help spectators understand what should be the focus of their attention. An effective visual design technique is utilized when Pennywise appears. His big and yellow eyes stand out against the darkness of the sewer, which frightens Georgia and the audience. Then, the monster comes closer to the boy, and it is now possible to see half of the clown’s white face with big teeth. A low angle is used to depict Georgia against a lighter background to reveal his innocence. This mise-en-scene is utilized to depict that Pennywise is a terrifying monster that appears suddenly and allures children.
Sound and Music
Sound effects play a significant role in setting the film’s mood. On the one hand, the film is full of seemingly secondary sounds that, however, appear hair-raising for spectators. This statement refers to Pennywise’s growling, roaring, grunting, and laughing, and all these diegetic sounds create the effect of tension. Simultaneously, one cannot understate the role of children’s laughter that also has a psychological impact on spectators. Extremely loud carnival music that accompanies the Pennywise dancing scene contributes to the atmosphere of a nightmare.
On the other hand, the film includes different songs that shape the audience’s moods. Benjamin Wallfisch was the movie’s composer, and he created its soundtracks. These tracks mainly consist of high-pitch melodies and child voices, which results in tension among spectators. However, It also includes songs from such famous bands as The Cure, Anthrax, and Pixies to bring a happier tone to the film in some episodes and introduce the atmosphere of the 1980s. The selection of these soundtracks results in a contrast, which makes scary scenes even more terrifying when they follow lighter and happier episodes.
Genre and Cultural/Historical Considerations
It is a successful adaptation of the cognominal horror novel by Stephen King. That is why fans of this genre drew specific attention to whether Muschietti could create a high-quality picture. Numerous spectators also compared the film to a previous King’s adaptation that was released in 1990, and one can claim that their expectations were satisfied. It is challenging to argue with a reviewer from Esquire, who stated that the 2017 film was more successful because Muschietti created more than an ordinary horror (Coates). The director demonstrated that real-life problems, including adults’ indifference and family abuse, could be as terrible as the monster perfectly played by Skarsgård. One should also state that the use of Pennywise is perfect because every appearance of the clown on screen is associated with a creepy effect (Nugent). The film is a significant contribution to the development of the given genre since Muschietti managed to combine the real and fictional evils in one picture. Thus, the film director established a standard for other filmmakers to follow, which denotes that even horror films should address real-life problems.
The film emerged in 2017, and modern society has many social and political problems. That is why It reaches the audience and conveys the message that evil and threats live within everyone. Since the movie takes place in the 1980s and is relevant today, one can suppose that the main message will be essential even in the future. The general audience and critics positively appraised the movie, and it won numerous awards, including three Bogey Awards and individual awards for actors. Finally, the film was a success at the Box Office because it earned more than $700 million with an estimated budget of $35 million (IMBD.com). Thus, one can conclude that It was a successful horror film.
Personal Reaction
I am a fan of horror movies, and I personally enjoyed It. The themes, Pennywise’s makeup and performance, as well as the plot significantly impressed me, and I decided to analyze this film in my term paper. I value friendship and mutual assistance and like receiving thrills from watching films, and It satisfied all my requirements. I am among numerous ordinary spectators and professional critics who positively appraise the movie and its various strengths. In conclusion, I would like to say that the assignment has changed the way how I view other entertainment outlets. Now, I watch movies and draw attention to many aspects except for the plot, and they include cinematography techniques, visual design, symbols, themes, and performance. This approach helps me develop a comprehensive understanding of a film and analyze it professionally to form a reasonable opinion.
Outside Sources
Bowler, Holly. “It (2017) Review.”The Film Magazine. Web.
Coates, Tyler. “The New Version of It Is Shockingly Violent.”Esquire. Web.
Gemmill, Allie. “This Might Be the Scariest Part of the New Movie It.”Bustle. Web.
IMBD.com. “It.” Web.
It. Dir. Andy Muschietti. Perf. Jaeden Lieberher and Bill SkarsgĂĄrd. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2017.
Marshall, Rick. “It Review.”Digitaltrends. Web.
McGregor, Collin. “It (2017) Movie: Ending and Themes Explained.” Heavy.com. Web.
Nugent, John. “It (2017) Review.”Empire. Web.
Pepler, Jude. “More Than Blood and Guts: Symbolism in Horror.”High on Films. Web.
Romano, Aja. “It: A Superb Stephen King Adaptation Fueled Less by Scary Clowns than by Real-Life Evil.”Vox. Web.
Scottshak. “It Movie Review (2017): A Perfect Paragon of Dark Poetry: Full Analysis with Spoilers.” Straight from a Movie. Web.