It Chapter 2 is a Beautiful Love Letter to Our Present Selves about Our Lonely Past
If you have the chance to meet your younger self, a decade younger for example, what will you say to them? What piece of advice you will give to your sad younger self to comfort your present one?
It Chapter 2 brought a similar vibe to its viewers — to forgive our past mistakes, move on, and live the life we always wanted to have.
The first It movie tells the story of a group of bullied children, calling themselves the Losers Club, who bonded together when they were tormented by Pennywise the clown and defeated ‘It’ in the end. Keeping the promise they made in 1989, It Chapter 2 is a homecoming story for the grown-up “Losers” and of how they struggled to keep the goal of their reunion. A call from Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) sent the other six Losers some jitters after being reminded of their childhood past that they rather forget (except for Mike). But they made a pact to return to Derry once It awakens as prophesied by young Beverley Marsh (Sophia Lillis) after encountering the deadlights at the monster’s lair.
Despite the critical reviews and low scores from the critics, I was highly satisfied with the movie. It Chapter 2 is a sheer cinematic delight (3 stars) that breathed life to Stephen King’s It novel and completing the 2-part installment as a reboot of the 1989 TV movie. I read a few tweets about how long the movie (over 2 hours) is when it can be told in a regular 90 minutes. I disagree with the idea because the overall message that the movie is trying to convey must be established within the context by telling the story of each character. I even felt that the movie was rushed at some point because every character, every encounter they had with It, every moment they were together, is very much engaging and affecting that I wish it to be longer.
Praising the cast for their impressive performance will be redundant since they have been praised enough, which they deserved, during its cinema run. Instead, it is more interesting to discuss other things that the movie has explored. For example, a tongue-in-cheek commentary seemingly refers to the ending of the 1989 TV movie adaptation (I might be wrong though) when a movie director approached Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy) for the revision of his screenplay ending: “They hate the ending,” the director said. The 1989 TV movie version happened to be anticlimactic due to the underwhelming presentation of It’s true form (all those killings because of a spider?) in their final battle down to its lair. It’s true form in It Chapter 2 has a more horrifying effect since they retained his Pennywise face that deviated to full a spider form, which is a plus to the film.
Another is the “killer” cameo of [SPOILER] It’s author, Stephen King. This seems to be his gesture of approval for this adaptation. I read somewhere that there were few adaptations of his novels that King did not like, including Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, so seeing him appear in It Chapter 2 removes the guilt of enjoying the movie while being a fan of the novel.
I read Stephen King’s It in 1998 (a seriously thick book), lights off in my room, with a flashlight on to build that thrilling King’s novel reading experience, which I ceremoniously did with few of his books. Funnily, a scene in the movie showed You’ve Got Mail poster on the old arcade house that adult Richie Tozier (Bill Hader) (very fine performance, by the way, the life of the party) visited when he was searching for his token and spotted a literal one. If I am not mistaken, You’ve Got Mail was released in 1998 as well, so this is sort of a personal nod to my It’s reading celebration.
Although underrated and given with less empathetic storyline, I find Mike Hanlon to be the most interesting character among the Losers Club. He is the only one who is brave enough to stay in Derry and investigate the entity’s possible origin. He set aside his own ambition, took the responsibility to know their enemy and how to defeat it, and took the courage to call on the pact they made, which the rest of them were so afraid to be reminded of.
What I appreciate the most in the movie are the poignant moments where the audience can grasp its heart — of setting yourself free from your mistakes in the past, learn from it, and be a better person that you can today.
I was moved when Bill fought his guilt about Georgie’s death by confronting It in the form of Georgie and then with his younger self (Jaeden Martell). His guilt enslaved him all throughout his life because of It’s manipulation and taunting. Each of the Losers Club members has issues that It uses to torment them, possibly for life. Pennywise or It represents the terrifying period in our lives, whether the consequences of our irresponsible actions or a terrible secret we were keeping. Suffering from it for most of our lives is almost inevitable. This movie is no self-help book, so it is up to us how we will come in terms to forgive ourselves and attain that inner peace we are longing for.
The movie is highly fictitious, but it wrote us a love letter to our present selves to be more appreciative of life and celebrate it with all of our scars and flaws because sometimes, embracing who we are and what we become is the only way to set ourselves free.
That’s only me though. I tend to reflect as I watch good films.
And by the way, this is a horror movie.
