Bill Skarsgård | Screenlife Reviews

On paper the cast of Antonio Campos’ new film The Devil All the Time is a slam dunk. A who’s who of up and coming talent and recently established superstars alike featuring Spider-Man himself Tom Holland in the lead, surrounded by Robert Pattinson, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Haley Bennett, Eliza Scanlen and Bill Skarsgard. The ridiculousness of the cast is understandable when you realise it’s a Netflix production, who can’t resist splashing their cash around these days, yet it can’t be understated when the performances within are as good as they are here. Performances alone don’t make a film work however, and The Devil All the Time is a prime example of how elements of a novel don’t necessarily translate to the movies, undermining the excellent work of the cast by attempting to cram too much into an already complex film and relying on narration instead of its actors to tell the story.

Let’s start with the main character here, who oddly enough is never actually on screen: the narrator and author of the original book Donald Ray Pollock. It is barely an exaggeration to say that his voice is heard on-screen more than any of the actors, with his husky Southern drawl explaining just about every plot development in the film. Granted this is a fairly complex film with an ensemble of characters and various interweaving storylines, but if your story doesn’t work without the need to explain each and every scene, then maybe you should take another look at the screenplay. Explaining someone’s emotions right before the moment of death is never going to be as engaging as simply watching the actor express those emotions through their movements and facial expression and the narration puts the audience on the outside, never allowing for any interpretation of a scene because everything is unpacked and told directly to you. It’s a strange device that seems to show Pollock’s overprotectiveness over his work and distrust in the actors, made even more annoying by the fact that majority of the things he is describing are being portrayed excellently by the A-list cast.

Performance wise this is a masterclass in dramatic character acting, with every actor fully committing to their character and the embodiment of some sort of evil. The Devil All the Time is a story about truly horrific people. This is not an easy watch in any sense of the word but it is a fascinating one that digs into the depths of human depravity and the manipulation of others through social constructs like gender roles and religion. While it won’t be for everyone, those that stick it out will be rewarded with a rich exploration of the violence of the human condition. Tom Holland leads the ensemble as Arvin, the son of tormented and fervently religious World War II veteran Willard (Bill Skarsgard), whose traumatic upbringing has left him a hardened, good intentioned man with an unwanted penchant for violence. Arvin’s desire to protect those around him, particularly adopted sister Lenora (Eliza Scanlen), inadvertently puts him on a collision course with a host of despicable people including depraved pastor Preston Teagardin (Robert Pattinson), husband and wife serial killers Carl (Jason Clarke) and Sandy (Riley Keough) and Sandy’s corrupt lawman brother Deputy Lee Bodecker (Sebastian Stan).

Everyone in this West Virginian backwoods town is damaged and has been broken in some way by the world around them, giving Arvin’s character an almost anti-hero quality; he is not above these people but simply desires to leave this place and ensure those he loves are looked after. The violence is simply a bi-product of his desire to do good and Holland does an amazing job of portraying this internal struggle in Arvin. It may seem almost impossible to separate the young actor from his role as Spider-Man but Holland manages to shift your perspective, with his Southern drawl and calm and measured demeanour. It is a risky move on Holland’s part but one that definitely pays off and shows his outstanding range as one of Britain’s brightest young talents.

That inherent goodness cannot be applied to the other members of the cast however, with Robert Pattinson almost stealing the entire film as the mesmerising Pastor who has hoodwinked the town into worshipping him as their connection to God, all the while lying to them and wreaking havoc on young girls around town. He is a character you absolutely loathe and it is a testament to Pattinson’s performance that he draws this kind of emotional response from the audience. His monologue about people’s “delusions” leading them to sin is truly spellbinding and will have you glued to the screen as you realise how well this man can twist the townspeople into accepting his word as the truth.

As is the case with any film of this nature with multiple storylines, there are those that simply aren’t as engaging as the others. The serial killer storyline seems to plod along as a sidepiece with no real relevance, apart from an early interaction with a key player, ultimately falling flat and failing to carry as much impact as it should. By far the least interesting however, is that of Deputy Bodecker. Sebastian Stan is great in the role, transforming himself into the grimy overweight policeman in debt to the mob and working as an enforcer while he polices, but ultimately his storyline just does not really matter. His place in Arvin’s narrative is never really solidified and ultimately doesn’t carry the weight that the film thinks it does, leading to something of an anticlimactic finale that doesn’t quite reach the dramatic highs that have come before.

The Devil All the Time is one of the most bold and risky films that Netflix has put out; a dark and violent exploration of the depravity that the human condition can extend to. While its subject matter certainly won’t appeal to a broad audience and the constant narration can be incredibly annoying, the excellence of the A-list cast’s performances cannot be overstated, with Holland and Pattinson in particular delivering awards worthy turns. This isn’t a casual watch by any means but if you find yourself in the mood for a good drama and something that will make you think then give The Devil All the Time a chance. I haven’t stopped thinking about it for almost a month and the more I do the more I am convinced that this is one of the best films of 2020.

The Devil All the Time stars Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Eliza Scanlen, Haley Bennett, Mia Wasikowska, Harry Melling, Donald Ray Pollock and Bill Skarsgard – Streaming on Netflix now.

Andy Muschietti knocked it out of the park in 2017 with his sophomore feature It. A smash hit in every sense of the word, the film took the world by storm and enraptured audiences in the world of Stephen King’s epic novel about a group of children forging lifelong bonds and rallying together in their fight to stop the evil clown demon Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). So how exactly do you follow up the highest grossing horror film of all time? You go bigger. It: Chapter Two is bigger than its predecessor in almost every aspect, be it the run-time, the amount of plot covered, the big name actors filling the roles of the children from the first film or the sheer number of scares – most of which feature Pennywise in some menacing way or another. Whilst it doesn’t necessarily improve upon the faults of the first film, opting for an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach, there is enough here for fans of the first film to love, even if they might find their interests waning in some sections.

Set 27 years after the first film, the Losers Club is all grown up and with the exception of Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), have all left the town of Derry firmly in the rear-view mirror. When attacks start to happen again and people start to disappear, Mike makes the call to his friends to honour the blood pact they made and return to Derry to stop Pennywise from finishing what he started. Thus begins our parade through the all-star cast Muschietti has assembled to play the adult versions of the kids we grew to love: Bill (James McAvoy), Beverly (Jessica Chastain), Richie (Bill Hader), Ben (Jay Ryan) and Eddie (James Ransone). This ensemble is truly one of the highlights of the film and they all understand their roles and the dynamic enough to make each scene an authentic interactions between friends. Each character is introduced in such a way that the audience can instantly link each child actor to their adult counterpart, through their personality and character design, and the transitional shots that serve to point out who everyone was in the last film almost feel heavy handed. Much like the first film, the character of Richie is definitely the standout here, thanks to a scene stealing Bill Hader. It’s not just that he has some of the most laugh out loud hilarious and memorable lines in the film, but the delivery and timing from Hader is spot on, putting those years of featuring on Saturday Night Live to good use. There is also an unexpected amount of heart and depth to Hader’s performance as Pennywise forces Richie to uncover things about himself and embrace who he is as a person in order to overcome his fear.

Richie is not the only one who must confront his fears, however, as Mike’s plan to stop Pennywise forces each member of the Losers Club to confront their own inner demons, often bumping into the clown himself along the way. Bill’s journey forces him to finally come to terms with his little brother Georgie’s death, an event that has instilled in him a deep desire to protect those around him at all costs, even if it means never truly relaxing and experiencing life. McAvoy gives a solid performance as always while we follow Bill’s increasingly desperate journey to protect the children Pennywise has set his sights on, seeing them as surrogates for his deceased brother. It’s not as rounded a performance as Hader’s but that is owed to the script, which seems to boil down each key friend to one defining characteristic. Eddie, for example, has always been something of a germaphobe, a fear instilled in him by his mother with whom he had a deeply unhealthy relationship with, and as such his fears revolve around – you guessed it: dirty things and mommy issues. While it’s a nice bit of catharsis to see each of these characters confront the things which Pennywise uses against them, it’s exactly what the climactic battle of the first film showed and the excuse that the further away everyone moves from Derry the more they forget about Pennywise’s last appearance comes across as a bit of a cop-out. This distilling of each character into one key trait creates a predictable pattern for the scares in the middle portion of the film, robbing them of impact the more they crop up.

Speaking of the scares, they function here much the same as they did in the first film – one of that film’s biggest weaknesses – resulting in little more than a momentary pause before a ridiculously loud noise jolts you out of your seat as something attacks our heroes. It’s an annoying choice given that the scares are effective and creative enough to stand on their own without the jump scare clichés. This is where the runtime also factors in in a big way. It’s certainly warranted given the huge amount of source material to cover, but the film simultaneously feels like there’s not enough time to really delve into each member of the Losers Club’s whilst also going long stretches without a scare. The intercutting between present days and 27 years ago helps to cut away from some of the more mundane subplots and remind audiences just why they fell in love with these characters in the first place. The character of Ben in particular gets a nice flashback that really fleshes out his character rather than some of the unbearably cringe inducing dialogue opted for in the 1990 miniseries version.

What most audience members (including myself) will flock to this movie for is Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Bill Skarsgård once again delivers a stellar performance, cementing his interpretation of the killer clown as one of, if not the most seminal movie monster of the decade. There’s so much he brings to the role, particularly in the physicality. The way Pennywise moves is unnerving, taunting his prey and going from docile and inviting to completely ravenous within seconds. Skarsgård never misses a beat with the chilling delivery of his lines and facial movements – the lip curling that creates a stream of drool and the lazy eye as Pennywise gets an insatiable lust to feed all act to build one completely terrifying performance that will have you checking under your bed at night. The only real downside to Pennywise in the film is that there’s simply not enough of him. The movie kicks into another gear when he’s onscreen as he takes the scares to another level, and it’s safe to say that the Losers Club’s best scenes are when they are face to face with the clown, forced to confront this supreme evil who wishes to feed on their fear. There’s been some early talks about the potential for prequels to It, which would delve into Pennywise’s time in Derry before the Loser’s Club. While it certainly may seem like a cash grab, Skarsgård has shown that he is more than capable of carrying these films and I for one would be in the cinema day one to see more of his powerhouse performance.

IT: Chapter Two is a largely satisfying end to the Stephen King written saga. Bold and ambitious in scope, the film simply tries to cram too much story into the proceedings, attempting to hit as much of the novel’s story as possible whilst not giving enough time to the characters and relationships that audiences care about. When it comes down to it however, the time we do spend with those characters is truly special – always engaging as every actor brings their A-game to deliver some top notch scares and touching moments. At the end of the day though the main draw is Pennywise and – thanks to Bill Skarsgård – he once again steals the show, keeping the audience on their toes and inducing nightmares that will last long after the film ends. Do yourself a favour and get out to the cinema: it’s time to float.

IT: Chapter Two stars Bill Skarsgård, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan and James Ransone – In cinemas now.