I am a moderate fan of musicals overall, generally either liking or tolerating the genre, so I had low expectations for “The Greatest Showman.”
While I had never seen anything directed by Michael Gracey, he certainly impressed me with this film. Of course, he had an entire cast of talented people to back him up.
I was thoroughly surprised at how well Hugh Jackman performed the role of P. T. Barnum, or the “circus king,” because it was a complete 180 from the characters he frequently plays. It was quite impressive Jackman could portray this character remarkably well when most actors stick to character types they are familiar with.
While I do not know much about Zac Efron, apart from his role in “High School Musical,” his singing and acting abilities certainly astonished me. He sings in some of the best tracks of the movie and portrays exponential character development throughout the film.
Between the love story Efron and Zendaya’s characters share and the progressive way Efron’s character, Phillip, regards money in the beginning and the end, Efron has a lot to sink his teeth into.
Zendaya portrayed my favorite character in the film, Anne Wheeler, a girl with a dream beyond her time and a part the world needed to accept.
Through and through, Zendaya’s performance as Wheeler was remarkable, whether she was dancing, singing or walking the trapeze.
The only performance I was not entirely sold on was the “world-renowned opera singer.” Rebecca Ferguson portrayed Jenny Lind well, but it was still disappointing to hear a so-called “world-renowned opera singer” sing something other than opera.
I was further disappointed when I realized it was not even Ferguson’s voice. Essentially, the character of Jenny Lind is a famous opera singer who does not perform opera and was not cast by a singer at all. While Ferguson acted the part well, it did not make sense to cast her as the famous opera singer if she was only going to lip-sync.
Despite this, the music in the movie was catchy and well composed. As soon as I was out of the theatre, I wanted to listen to the soundtrack again. With such constructive and inspiring meanings, the music really does complete the film.
The entire score for this movie was beyond what I had imagined going into it. With amazing voices to create the track, it was quite impressive.
Not only did the soundtrack highlight each singer’s talent, but there was meaning behind each song. From the first song to the last, the musical told a wonderful story of people trying to accept and respect themselves.
“This is Me,” my favorite track by far, was incredibly inspiring. The song is sung by The Bearded Lady, played by Keala Settle, and it hits home hard. It conveyed the idea of everyone being equal, and no one deserves to be judged by their outside appearance.
The song was the most powerful in the musical, and it certainly put Settle on the map with an extraordinarily talented voice.
Instead of thinking in a box, like the rest of the world, these characters are taught to live life to the fullest, to continue dreaming while they are still awake. They trade shame for self-worth, which is a concept “The Greatest Showman” executed marvelously.
“The Greatest Showman” was well put together, with each character carrying a significant message which was consistently communicated throughout.
“The Greatest Showman” was not simply a musical. With brilliant actors, particularly catchy songs and a great storyline uniting history and a message of acceptance together, “The Greatest Showman” was the best musical I have seen in a long time.