If you have not seen the film, I am now going to spoil the mystery so I can talk about Aunt Gladys, who officially enters the film after an hour. Aunt Gladys knows a little magic and has been using it to steal the children’s vitality and prolong her life against a terminal illness. It makes the film play very different on a 2nd viewing, because on a first watch you’re reluctant to watch the story get pulled away from Julia Garner, Josh Brolin and Alden Ehrenreich. On a rewatch, you sense everyone caught in Gladys’ orbit unable to escape her plot. So, Madigan goes from an obtrusive scene stealer to the film’s center of gravity. The early dream appearances, which I found overly-similar to Pennywise the clown stoking fear, are foreshadowing what’s coming. I’m still curious to know if the Ronald McDonald comparison is deliberate, and I like that she has a real frailness when you remove her wig and glasses. She reminds me of elderly people trying desperately to hide their real vulnerable condition, or possibly a creature trying to mimic the look of a human.
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