{"id":1532,"date":"2024-05-21T12:14:21","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T12:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/?p=1532"},"modified":"2024-05-21T12:14:21","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T12:14:21","slug":"review-if","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/?p=1532","title":{"rendered":"Review: If"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

No, not the one about a genocidal clown who enjoys a good balloon with a side of child murder (It<\/em>). Also not that one where a group of kids find that odd fantasy creature and go on an adventure (Five Children and It<\/em>). And it\u2019s definitely not If…<\/em>, 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<\/em>. No, I\u2019m talking about If<\/em>, 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\u2019re talking about, eh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Going into this after watching the trailer, it\u2019s clear the voice cast is pretty stacked. Krasinski reunites with\u00a0US Office<\/em>\u00a0co-star Steve Carell, even if the two don\u2019t technically share much screentime (the rules about when Ifs \u2013 the imaginary friends in question \u2013 can and can\u2019t be seen by humans are kind of sketchy). Carell\u2019s voice talent was already clear as the nefarious Gru in the\u00a0Despicable Me<\/em>\u00a0series, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em>\u2019s genius, tragic opening scene. But it doesn\u2019t add up. The beginning of If<\/em> takes you through a breezy compilation of images of Bea\u2019s early family life, with her mother getting the stereotypical bandana around her head at hospital as she dies off-screen. Maybe I\u2019ve lost a bit of perspective, but the depictions of illness here \u2013 both physical and mental (Bea\u2019s father is in hospital for a \u2018broken heart\u2019) just don\u2019t gel, and have been handled with more care in other child-oriented films (see: Guardians of The Galaxy<\/em>, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Two<\/em>), although certainly with less nuance in others (see: Tim Burton\u2019s Alice In Wonderland<\/em>). If<\/em>\u2019s heart is in the right place, even though it skips some beats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s definitely not If…, as in the late 60s film starring Malcolm … <\/p>\n

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