Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2017: Jack Dylan Grazer & Bill Skarsgård in It

Jack Dylan Grazer did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Edward "Eddie" Kaspbrak in It.

It is a fairly entertaining horror film about a child eating monster stalking the underbelly of a New England town. Although watching it again it does overdo a few typical horror film techniques, particularly the string smear to telegraph when something scary is about to happen.

One of the elements that works so well within this adaptation of Stephen King's novel is the coming of age story of the kids that could almost stand separately from their time dealing with a killer clown from outer space. This is further amplified by the terrific ensemble of juvenile performers that form their group known as the losers club. Although perhaps a couple of them are a bit under served by the screenplay, Chosen Jacobs as Mike and Wyatt Oleff as Stan, together they excel in a few ways. One being in every single one of the horror scenes where not a single one of the actors falters. They help to bring to life the horror in intimate detail as they effectively heighten the tension of each and every encounter. They are as good though in terms of creating this group dynamic of these kids. They do just behave in this uniform way of all good little kids falling into line as friends. No, what they do is make a far stronger dynamic by so naturally realizing the richness of their interactions which aren't always wholly pleasant for some of the members yet so effectively allude to the history between the kids who already know each other and the brewing history with the new additions to the group.

Although obviously in this review I am focusing in on Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie, who is in the "upper tier" in terms of both of those aforementioned elements. His scenes of terror are particularly strong in that regard especially his direct moments with the fellow mentioned below. Grazer frankly sells something even far more terrifying than we even see through the sheer petrified terror he able to realize within his performance as Eddie. He goes all in in creating every gasp, and panic in his body language so very real. Again while the horror is important what makes this film stand out within the horror genre are the kids. My favorite, and really most realistic dynamics within the kids, is their constant ball busting one another spearheaded by Finn Wolfhard's Richie, who tries far too hard to make everything a joke, and that's entirely the point. Jack Dylan Grazer, who apparently also came up with a lot Richie's one liners, is actually delivers the most abundant humor in the film. His realizes this isn't so much in Eddie's effort to make a joke but rather his reactions towards Richie's jokes. This includes some general frustration that Grazer realizes so naturally as the friend who just can't believe the stupidity of his friend at times, the best moments in this though are whenever this takes the form of indeed a counter joke. These are always placed right after something Richie says, and Grazer's delivery is dynamite every time by so boosting the moment through his portrayal of Eddie's sheer annoyance as he comes up with his own comeback. It's terrific as Grazer actually ends up being the funniest of the kids by so effectively realizing this dynamic with Wolfhard as Richie. In addition though, even in their sometimes rough jokes, they both create this underlying sense of genuine care for one another even if it isn't directly spoken very often.

An important aspect of this is that Grazer's performance, despite some of cruder choices in subject matter and vocabulary, still makes Eddie a normal kid. This isn't even in his scenes with the monster where obviously Eddie is particularly vulnerable. In even his verbal sparring with Richie that frustration Grazer brings is very much with the right earnestness within petulance of a child. There is also though more to this in his portrayal of the hypochondriac side of Eddie that he makes a very naturalistic part of his character. In the moments where they are just near something dirty or when he's talking about disease Grazer captures the intensity of the anxiety of a kid without proper foresight or guidance. Grazer makes it something that seems to pester him throughout showing well the way it is a near hysterical fear that is pervasive in him. The best moments though of his are when Eddie comes face to face with his overbearing mother where Grazer most strongly reveals the true innocence of Eddie. These moments are terrific because he plays them entirely lacking of the pretense of the "maturity" when hanging out with the rest of the friends. He shows just a really scared kid and constricts showing in his eyes as though Eddie is looking some sort of comfort from his mother to which he is given the exact opposite. Grazer's best scene in the film is when he directly confronts his fears by confronting his unloving mother after finding out she has been giving him placebos that only contributed to his anxieties. Grazer's great in this scene on a dramatic level again because he doesn't suddenly become an adult but rather is all the more moving by truly revealing this innocent delivery of Eddie's rejection of his mother's behavior. It's beautifully realized as he finds still a bit of fear as he says he has to help his friend and in turn makes that determination all the more powerful. In addition it's a downright hilarious as well through his flawless, purposefully unknowing, delivery of "They're gazebos!" when decrying the placebos. Grazer gives a wonderful performance here that realizes Eddie's arc so well while also just contributing just a little something special to every single scene he is in.

Bill Skarsgård did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying the titular monster aka Pennywise the dancing clown in It.

The original tv miniseries adaptation of the film is not known as this untouchable classic. In fact it is known as much worse when one begins to consider the second half of the series. The one element consistently praised though is Tim Curry's original portrayal of Pennywise the clown leaving the one thing this adaptation had to live up to when compared to the miniseries. The fairly young Bill Skarsgård came as the choice for the lover of floating things, and I will say he certainly had a take for the character. Skarsgård takes the approach that Pennywise isn't all that great in his act of pretending to be a clown. Although this might seem strange, he actually goes all the way with this in terms of portraying it specifically as this Alien not only trying to pretend to be a clown but a human in general. Skarsgård's vocal delivery in the role is of this constant breaking of the timbre of his voice as he constantly is going from this more heightened attempted pleasant voice, that constantly is falling towards a more guttural sound. That sound being closer to this vicious beast rather than a man, and Skarsgård portrays this as the real Alien struggling to maintain his clown voice. He keeps this idea within the entirety of his performance. This also is just in the way he interacts with his prey, particularly in the use of his eyes where Skarsgård's will portray this sudden switch to a blank stare more akin to predator than anything else again showing the clown as nothing more than the most surface of veils for the monster beneath. This is an interesting choice, and technically well portrayed by Skarsgård through the methods I previously mentioned. He is not so specific towards that idea though that he doesn't also have a bit of fun in the role, as a proper Pennywise should to be honest. He takes a few notes from the Joker's playbook, in portraying the most overwhelming joy in the clown as he terrorizes his victims. In turn he is entertaining in the role particularly when the film switches more towards action horror later on. Having said all that I don't love this performance, only because while chilling enough, in that he's certainly not goofy, he doesn't truly get under your skin beyond a certain point, well unless he's eating you....no Skarsgård's good, but he's not quite great. Curry in the original, who plays as a flamboyant though demonic clown, is more chilling while also being more entertaining oddly enough. Skarsgård's version is an interesting approach that he realizes well but he does not pinch the truly visceral nerve you want from a performance like this. I mean I just can't help but wonder what that other guy would've done, you know the one I hear gave a pretty chilling performance in a different film from 2017.