IF

 

Greetings once again from the darkened recesses of my local movie theater. This week I took in the latest offering from writer/director John Krasinski, IF, starring Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming.  I went into this one being a fan of Krasinski and Reynolds figuring this would be a fun, lighthearted, innocuous romp.  IF turned out to be more than I bargained for.

IF is a bittersweet, poignant, funny, imaginative, creative, and emotional coming-of-age film that isn’t a coming-of-age film. It’s a film for everyone that won’t necessarily appeal to everyone.  It’s charming and witty, joyful and dark. IF is one of those seemingly innocent “kid” films that’s subversive, grabs you in and by the feels and doesn’t let go. Definitely a film that appeals to kids with its characterization, but the real audience is adults.

The impact of watching IF hits similar to Christopher Robin, Up, or Encanto to name a few.  As an adult I found myself delighted, entertained, and traumatized from start to finish. 

You laugh, you cry, rinse and repeat. 

If you don’t find yourself thinking and feeling deeply there’s something wrong with you. This one got and has stayed in my head, even costing me an unbroken night’s sleep.

In addition to the previously mentioned stars, IF has an embarrassment of riches in its casting. The Michael Giacchino score is perfection. The production design is amazing. The CGI work beautiful and effective.

Krasinski set out to create a live action Pixar film and he definitely succeeded. IF is a film that is hard to pin down in many respects, but works masterfully, nonetheless. It’s contradictory, meandering, whimsical, inspirational, tough, hopeful, and painful. IF is life summed up in one hour and forty-four-minute snapshot. One that deserves to be seen on the big screen.  And certainly, will benefit from multiple viewings, so I look forward to adding this one to my personal film collection.

IF gets an emotional 10 from me.

 #IFMovie