No, not the one about a genocidal clown who enjoys a good balloon with a side of child murder (It). Also not that one where a group of kids find that odd fantasy creature and go on an adventure (Five Children and It). And it’s definitely not If…, as in the late 60s film starring Malcolm McDowell, whose performance as a rebellious public-school student convinced Stanley Kubrick to cast the actor in A Clockwork Orange. No, I’m talking about If, the 2024 film directed by and starring John Krasinski, where a young girl struggles with grief and starts to see imaginary friends whose humans have grown up and forgotten about them. Yes, THAT film. Funny how a punctuation mark or a minor letter change can cause confusion about what film you’re talking about, eh?
Going into this after watching the trailer, it’s clear the voice cast is pretty stacked. Krasinski reunites with US Office co-star Steve Carell, even if the two don’t technically share much screentime (the rules about when Ifs – the imaginary friends in question – can and can’t be seen by humans are kind of sketchy). Carell’s voice talent was already clear as the nefarious Gru in the Despicable Me series, and his vocal cords are not top form again here too as big purple monster Blu. Cailey Fleming also puts in a strong performance as Bea, trying to help the lonely creatures be remembered by their creators and find a home again.
While the basic concept is sweet, and the central narrative is full of good intentions (Krasinski based the film on the imaginary friends of his two daughters), sentimentality gets in the way of true feeling. When you see the composer in the credits is Michael Giacchino, you can tell the filmmakers were trying to hit the same notes of heartbreak as Up’s genius, tragic opening scene. But it doesn’t add up. The beginning of If takes you through a breezy compilation of images of Bea’s early family life, with her mother getting the stereotypical bandana around her head at hospital as she dies off-screen. Maybe I’ve lost a bit of perspective, but the depictions of illness here – both physical and mental (Bea’s father is in hospital for a ‘broken heart’) just don’t gel, and have been handled with more care in other child-oriented films (see: Guardians of The Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Two), although certainly with less nuance in others (see: Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland). If’s heart is in the right place, even though it skips some beats.