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The Goldfinch (2019)
This Movie Was Made for the Fans. Wolfhard & Barnard Shine.
I have been a fan of both Ansel Elgort and Finn Wolfhard for many years. When it was announced in January 2018 that these two brilliant young actors would be filming a movie together, I was over the moon. I picked up a copy of The Goldfinch shortly after the announcement and began reading the novel. If I'm being honest, it was not the easiest read, as I am not a person who is well versed in the world of fine arts and antiques. It took me a while to get through it, but in the end, it was a truly rich, moving and beautiful story that I fell in love with.
Having very tragically lost a parent at a young age myself, I felt an immediate connection and protectiveness of young Theo. This emotion translated from page to screen beautifully through Oakes Fegley's performance. He was able to perfectly emote the pain and fear that Theo was experiencing after the loss of his mother and the theft of the painting. He did a fantastic job and his character was 100% believable.
Finn Wolfhard stole the whole show for me. Boris was by far my favorite character in the book, so naturally, he was my favorite character in the film as well. He was such a breath of fresh air and unlike any other person that Theo had ever met in his life. He didn't care about art or antiques. The painting to him was simply "Theo's picture" and that was that. What you see is what you get with him. Boris was such a different role for Finn; he was the type of character I had never seen him perform before and I think that he nailed it right on the head. From his accent to every line, quirk and mannerism, he exceeded my expectations. He was the comic relief and he was the heart. His performance was truly brilliant and believe me, this is not the last we've heard of him.
I went to see the movie expecting it to focus around Ansel Elgort and Aneurin Barnard who were both wonderful in their own rights, but really, this movie belonged to Oakes and Finn. As I mentioned before, I've been a fan of Ansel for many years, but Anerin's portrayal of adult Boris really blew me away and I wish we had seen a bit more of him in the film. I picked up the book in the first place for Ansel and Finn, but it was Finn and Aneurin who left the greatest impression on me while watching the film.
I also want to note that Nicole Kidman, perhaps the most seasoned actor in this film, brought a warmth to Mrs. Barbour that I didn't quite feel in the book. She was simply amazing, and while young Theo in both the book and in the movie might have felt that she was stand-offish in regards to him, I could clearly see through Nicole's performance that Mrs. Barbour always very deeply cared for Theo.
This was truly a movie for the fans. There are certain fine details about adult Theo's life that are left grossly unexplained in the film which I'm sure could be confusing for the average audience member who hasn't read the book, such as Theo's relationships with Lucius Reeve and Kitsey Barbour and how they came to be. And more. That being said, everything that I cared about, deemed important, or could have possibly wanted from the book was included in the film. As a fan, I was left completely satisfied with The Goldfinch and it's such a shame that more people didn't give it a chance.
I don't think the critics were right. But perhaps I'm biased.
It Chapter Two (2019)
Perfect Casting and Kudos to Bill Hader & Finn Wolfhard!
Simply put, IT Chapter Two was beautiful and I loved it. I laughed. I jumped. I screamed. I cried. (Six times to be exact, but who's counting? I mean how can you not cry during a movie when little kids are dying?)
The film was so well cast. I can see every single one of the kid losers in the adult losers, whether it's a certain feature or mannerism, what have you, and I can tell that the adult actors took great care to watch the first film and study their younger counterparts in order to make the performances as successful as possible.
Bill Hader's performance as Richie was brilliant, hilarious, and moving, and he stole the whole movie. (I felt the same way about Finn Wolfhard in the first film.) James Ransone's Eddie was spot on; his timing was impeccable and I loved how often he incorporated lines that kid Eddie used in the first film. (I wonder how much of that was scripted or improv.) James McAvoy's performance as Bill was also very moving, as was Andy Bean's very short lived performance as Stan. EVERYONE WAS FANTASTIC, but those guys were definitely my personal favorites.
As a huge Finn Wolfhard (Young Richie) fan and supporter, I was very proud of his performance. It was nice to see Richie dealing with an intricate emotional issue while still being right in the middle of the action and also maintaining his fun banter with Eddie. (This was true of both young and adult Richie.) I was also really impressed with Wyatt Oleff (Young Stanley) and Jaeden Martell's (Young Bill) performances. They were involved in two scenes that definitely gave me some good jumps and screams, especially Wyatt. If you haven't seen it yet, you'll know when you do. He was BRILLIANT!
Andy Muschietti was as true to the book as he could possibly be, while also writing in some creative liberties. Some of the liberties incorporated aspects from the book that couldn't be told in full detail, and some were completely created by him. Richie's story-line was hard for me to accept just due to the simple fact that it was not in either the book or the original miniseries from 1990, and I really didn't get that vibe from the 2017 film either. However, I felt it was very beautifully portrayed, and I'm not ignorant enough not to realize that this is ANDY's movie, BASED on Stephen King's novel.
People are always quick to say, "I liked the movie, but the book was better." Films based on movies are just that; based on them. They are never the same. And I am a person who loves the movie if I loved the book. Always! IT Chapter Two was no different. I loved it from start to finish. Well done to everyone involved!