It is Beverly that listens to their fears and concerns and, when the group fights and begins to splinter apart in the face of danger, it is Beverly that takes responsibility for trying to persuade them to stick together. Despite all of this heroism on her part, the final act of the movie ensures that Beverly is cast in the light of ‘victim’ – of the girl that needs to be rescued.

The ultimate effect of the treatment of the character of Beverly Marsh is to leave us with a sense of hopelessness for her. At the end of the film, she is leaving Derry to live with relatives in a different state. But, though she is free of the clutches of her rapist father, and she has helped to rid the town of Pennywise for the time being, we know from the behaviour of her childhood ‘...

Please subscribe to keep reading.