So been meaning to watch this as I'm a pretty big Stephen King fan but only just got around to it after months of procastinating. It's supposedly regarded as one of the best adaptations of his works (in this case
The Body) and seems like a personal favorite of his. What surprised me about the film, besides the dark tone, was how it wasn't geared towards kids despite the largely pre-teen cast but rather adults instead. It's a work that in some ways plays on the nostalgia of the audience. There's a melancholic tone to the film partially due to narrator reflecting on his childhood but also that the audience knows at the beginning that his best friend ends up getting murdered in some inconsequential knife fight later in life.
The movie itself is more down to earth than I was expecting. I guess it's due to modern Hollywood syndrome but once Chris pulled out the gun at the beginning, I was expecting someone to get shot. Even the journey itself is relatively low-key despite the train/bridge sequence. Nobody breaks their leg, gets bit by a wolf, or near drowns. I guess from reading the synopsis I was expecting more of a 'grand' adventure taking place over weeks/months however I think the shorter duration is fine as it plays into one of the themes of the movie, mainly that things seem much more dangerous or scary when you're a kid, for example
Chopper sic balls.
hey a young Edward Norton
One thing I was impressed by was how complex the characters were to an extent. Three of the kids have deep psychological scars, mostly stemming from home. Gordie is dealing with a small amount of emotional abuse from his dad and a large amount of neglect from both parents. The movie does a great job of showing how his brother was the glue that held the family together even when the brother was alive. Gordie is having to deal with not only losing his brother but also a father that seemingly doesn't want him. The events in the movie serve as a way for Gordie to come to terms with his brother's death. There's then Chris who comes from a broken home and feels entrapped by social expectations, in that people automatically expect him to be a screwup. Chris is probably the smartest and caring person in the group but society only judges him by his last name. I thought the scene when he broke down, reciting the milk money story, was probably the most emotional moment in the film. In fact, I was less impressed by Gordie's crying scene later because of how good Chris's scene was. Chris's actor, River Phoenix, did a much better job at nailing certain emotions than Gordie's actor, Will Wheaton, did. Teddy's family scenario was fairly intriguing too in that his father horribly abused him and scarred him, yet he both loved and hated the man. He would go on about his father storming the beaches at Normandy but also seemingly wanted to shoot the man. Even besides the complicated parental feelings, Teddy came across as suicidal as well. He was just a complete basket-case. Finally there's Vern who was probably the least interesting character in the group and besides being fat, seemed kind of slow.
Leaving aside the kid actors who were impeccably cast, the other character who impressed me was Ace. Ace was the classic bully but Kiefer Sutherland fucking nailed the role. He just looks completely psychotic the entire film and the audience can easily believe that he's willing to kill Chris at the end. The gang as a whole was pretty hardcore in a way you really don't see in films anymore, in that they're cutting each other with razor blades for tattoos. I liked how Ace served as an opposing counterpart for Chris in that Ace didn't care about his 'friends' at all and either threatened or ordered them around while Chris was trying to be supportive. That said, Chris also didn't really seem like his age at times and felt as if he was five to ten years older especially when he was encouraging Gordie to take up writing.
It's a movie about growing up that's not only for the characters but the audience members as well. I'm sure the relationship between Gordie and Chris resonated with a lot of people, not to mention the sadness of growing older and drifting apart. There's a sense of realism in the end in that the kids didn't become big national heroes nor did they even sort out their home problems. Gordie still has emotionally neglectful parents, Chris is still the outcast in town, Teddy still has an insane father, and Vern is still Vern.
However both Chris and Gordie are different than from when they set out. Chris has more confidence in who he is, regardless of what the town thinks of him. Gordie also seems more self-assured despite his brother being gone as he found a pillar of support in Chris. All of this makes the ending even more sad, knowing that Chris dies a fairly gruesome death in a fast food restaurant. The movie was also about adult Gordie saying goodbye to Chris and coming to terms with Chris's death.
The movie worked on pulling those nostalgia strings and made me reflect on my own set of friend from when I was younger. Even besides the writing and acting though, the movie is really well shot with lots of long angles that capture both the beauty of the wilderness but also the friendship of the kids. The 50's soundtrack was pretty good even besides the titular song, I can thank Lollipop Chainsaw for knowing half the tracks. It's a well put together film that is a mature look at both childhood and friendship.
