IF

Directed by John Krasinski, IF follows a young girl (Cailey Fleming’s Bea) as she and a mysterious man (Ryan Reynolds’ Cal) set out to reunite adults with their imaginary friends (or IFs). It’s an appealing premise that is, for the most part, employed to underwhelming and uninvolving effect by Krasinski, as the filmmaker, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a muddled, meandering narrative that contains disastrously little in the way of an entry point for the viewer – with the arms-length atmosphere compounded by an absence of universe-building that grows more and more problematic as time unfolds (ie how does any of this work?) There is, as such, little doubt that IF is rarely, if ever, as fun and charming as Krasinski has obviously intended, and while the movie’s been packed with larger-than-life set-pieces, including a relatively fun musical number (albeit one that doesn’t, much like everything else, make much sense), the overall emotional impact for which Krasinski is obviously striving remains non-existent from start to finish – with this particularly troublesome (and noticeable) within the picture’s heartstring-tugging final stretch. The inclusion of an admittedly compelling credits sequence does, at least, ensure that the movie concludes on a positive note, and yet it’s impossible, ultimately, not to walk away from IF feeling like a huge opportunity has been thoroughly squandered.

** out of ****