The Goldfinch: Patience

It’s a Pulitzer Prize-winning book turned movie.

The Goldfinch has been out since December 3. It’s on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. The Digital format appeared on November 19.

GOLDFINCH

The Goldfinch novel is by Donna Tartt and published in 2013. Critics gave mixed reviews on the book, but the story still managed to be a bestseller and win the Pulitzer Prize. The distinguished prize has gone to stories like Gone with the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird.

There will be no prestigious awards for the film adaptation of The Goldfinch. It turned into one of the biggest bombs of 2019. The film made over $9 million worldwide. It landed a low 24% on the Rotten Tomatoes scale.

Ansel Elgort and Nicole Kidman lead the cast. There’s Oakes Fegley, Aneurin Barnard, Finn Wolfhard, Sarah Paulson, Luke Wilson and Jeffrey Wright.

The ensemble is rounded out with Ashleigh Cummings, Willa Fitzgerald, Aimee Laurence, Denis O’Hare and Boyd Gaines.

The director is British Academy of Film and Television Arts winner, John Crowley. Oscar-nominee Peter Straughan wrote the screenplay.    

TAKE

Would I buy this film? Surprisingly, I would make it a rainy day or snowy day selection.

I have not read The Goldfinch. I can’t compare the two.

Teenager Theo Decker (Oakes Fegley) saw his mother for the last time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A terrorist bomb exploded. He survives, but also makes a decision that impacts him for many years to come. He takes a painting of The Goldfinch. (Which is a real painting by Carel Fabritius from 1654.) The bombing trauma hits hard, and he develops a drug addiction. Which never really stops as Decker grows up into looking like Ansel Elgort.  

(So, yes, it is R-rated.)          

Your attention is required as the story cuts back between those teenage years and adult Decker. Plus, quite a few glimpses of the museum bombing crops up in these two different parts of Decker’s life, as he struggles with keeping his big secret.

I’ve only seen Elgort in one other movie - Baby Driver. For which I quite liked, and he is in the majority of the scenes. (Nowadays, you have to get past the fact that Kevin Spacey has numerous allegations against him.)

Elgort may not be an Oscar-calibre actor in The Goldfinch but came across as watchable. The transition with his teenage self (Oakes Fegley) was done quite well and seemed believable that the two could be the same person. Same goes with Finn Wolfhard and Aneurin Barnard as the younger and adult version of Decker’s friend, Boris.

The story feels more like a character-focused drama with relationships of love, family and friendships and also glimpses of the dark side. So if you lean more towards a genre like action films - The Goldfinch is likely not for you. There’s a certain amount of patience needed. The pace comes across as slow.

And to emphasize, I mean the story is - slooooww. Those 149 minutes (with credits) felt so much longer. 

I don’t think it’s a movie I’ll rush to watch again anytime soon. The film does look so beautifully shot though. With credit to Oscar-winning director of photography Roger Deakins. And the young and adult cast do quite a good job with the material they have, that I can’t help but give some positive points.

So, if I was to slot the film just from the last couple of months I would put The Goldfinch above a movie like The Kitchen with Melissa McCarthy.  

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The DVD contains only The Real Goldfinch

The Goldfinch Unbound (12 minutes, 54 seconds.)

- The behind-the-scenes-reel. There is a talk for when the book first came out, to the casting. Finn Wolfhard (of Stranger Things and IT) was not the first choice for Boris, but impressed with his Russian accent. Also was talked about Roger Deakins and his work.

The Real Goldfinch (8 minutes, 38 seconds.)

- If you like history, this may be more interesting. As mentioned, The Goldfinch is a real painting. They tell a little bit about Carel Fabritius and how he died and where you can find the Goldfinch today.

Over 16 minutes of deleted scenes with commentary from Director John Crowley

- The movie could have been longer. John Crowley talks about editing the movie and talks about some of the scenes. One of the notable is probably Decker going to a therapist. While adds depth to the character, it kind of stalls the overall story. 

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment

IT Chapter Two: Pennywise Lives

IT is the biggest horror movie in 2019.

IT Chapter Two arrived on December 10. You can find it on 4K UHD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital. The Digital format appeared on November 19.

IT 2

IT terrorized back in 2017. Many critics were positive, with a high 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Losers Club and their battle with Pennywise smashed expectations and raked in over $700 million worldwide. IT became the top-grossing (R-rated) horror movie of all time.

IT Chapter Two was not able to match those record-breaking 2017 levels. The 2019 box office came in at over $470 million worldwide and more mixed reviews with 62% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is still enough for a ‘Fresh’ rating.

Regardless. IT Chapter Two still ended up as the biggest horror movie of the year and currently is in the Top 10 list for the domestic biggest films of 2019. (Rather hard to top those pesky Avengers in Endgame.)

As with Chapter One, most people already know, IT is lifted from the pages of a book. The Stephen King bestselling novel was first published in 1986.

(Stephen King even makes a cameo this time around as a shop owner.)

Andy Muschietti returns as director and Gary Dauberman took another to whirl to write the screenplay.

The original Losers return - Jaeden Martell (Bill), Wyatt Oleff (Stanley), Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie), Finn Wolfhard (Richie), Sophia Lillis (Beverly), Chosen Jacobs (Mike) and Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ben).

It’s 27 years later for Chapter Two. Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård, again) has returned to Derry to terrorize. The Losers made a pact. If IT returns, they will come back to Derry and fight. Mike (Mustafa) is the only one to remain and calls the rest of the Losers Club to return home. Mike thinks he knows how to defeat Pennywise.

Everyone else went their separate ways and even forgot what happened in the summer of 1989. But what happened that summer has stayed with them more than they realized.

Those Losers have grown up and taken up a bulk of the action now - James McAvoy (Bill), Andy Bean (Stanley), James Ransone (Eddie), Bill Hader (Richie), Jessica Chastain (Beverly), Isaiah Mustafa (Mike) and Jay Ryan (Ben.)   

TAKE  

Would I buy this film? Yes.

I am a fan of Stephen King and the weirdness that comes with the stories. I have read the book of IT. (It’s been a long time now.) Because of a long time, the adult stuff in the book became pretty fuzzy for me.

For a horror movie, there is a surprising amount of humour and amusing one-liners, which some people may or may not like.

On the flip-side of humour, I didn’t find the first IT to have much in terms of scares. Neither did Chapter Two. (Ok, a couple of jump scares.) And if you’ve never seen Chapter One - why are you watching Chapter Two?

But IT maintains the creepy atmosphere from the first movie, I think anyway. (Which some people didn't find creepy at all.)

There are a few really brutal and disturbing moments for this film, though. A couple of examples, the opening sequence is a hate crime towards two gay men - this is before Pennywise even shows up. And we learn Beverly (Jessica Chastain) married an abusive man.

The movie earned its R rating.

Overall, the adult cast is quite good at taking on the roles from the younger kids. They make it watchable. When the group meets up at a Chinese-style restaurant for the first time in ages, it might be one of the better group scenes.

I think Bill Hader as Richie proved to be the scene-stealer among them. The young Losers return for mini-flashback scenes and a brand-new sequence, as an underground clubhouse wasn’t in the first movie.

The film is long. It clocks in at 169 minutes with credits. But at times, it doesn’t feel that long either. Which I guess adds up to say the pace is up and down for such a big story. 

I don’t feel disappointed by the ending, but things get bogged down by some visual effects. It goes big on the weirdness, too. Let’s say a bit more - Outer worldly - which wasn’t heavy in the first movie.

I will watch the IT story again someday - they are a couple of the better Stephen King adaptations I’ve seen. But I think I will lean more towards Chapter One a bit more, because of the Stand By Me vibes (a much older but very-good Stephen King movie) with the younger version of Losers Club.

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The DVD features all - except the Commentary

The special features feel more extensive than Chapter One.

Pennywise Lives Again! (9 minutes, 55 seconds.)

- Bill Skarsgård discusses returning as Pennywise after a couple of years. The make-up he went through and some motion-capture work he had to do. It’s good if you’ve never seen Bill without make-up.

This Meeting of the Losers Club Has Officially Begun (8 minutes, 12 seconds.)

- The young actors talk about who might play their ‘older’ selves.

The Bill Hader and Jessica Chastain choices turned into reality.

The young actors even were asked to write letters to their older selves.

Finding the Deadlights (6 minutes, 18 seconds.)

- More focused on Stephen King and a behind-the-scenes look at his time on set. He talks a little bit about writing IT.

Commentary with Director Andy Muschietti

The Summers of IT: Chapter One, You’ll Float Too (35 minutes, 38 seconds.)

- A must watch if you like behind-the-scenes-reel. They show auditions, screen-tests. Talk about casting like over 150 actors auditioned for the role of Pennywise. Or Jaeden, who is Bill, actually auditioned to be Eddie first.  

The Summers of IT: Chapter Two, IT Ends (39 minutes, 30 seconds.)

- Another behind-the-scenes-reel. Although a bit repetitive in places like the letter-writing and aspects of Pennywise return are reused from other features.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment