Bea says: Cecil and I try not to be film snobs, but I was wary that this film might be a tad too commercial for us. However – we were attempting to keep awake (jet-lagged), it was on at a good time (6 pm Saturday night) and location (The Waterfront, Greenock) for us, and it has a pretty good cast – Hugh Jackman and the always wonderful Michelle Williams – who I have been following since her Dawson’s Creek days. We’d seen a few previews of it and it looked interesting, colourful and perhaps a bit dark too, so I anticipated a bit of depth.
What the previews didn’t really show was that it is actually
a musical (not Cecil’s favourite genre), but apart from a few isolated
incidents there wasn’t too much random bursting into song and the song and
dance pieces generally were well woven into the story, and fitted with the
circus/carnival/concert action anyway.
In fact, the music was great and the choreography spectacular; so much
so that Cecil and I both turned to each other at the end and suggested buying
the CD (yes, we are that old fashioned…I do use digital music options at times
but Cecil doesn’t at all).
The film is purportedly the story of PT Barnum (Jackman),
the circus magnate, as he establishes the first circus in New York City; going
from rags to riches to the threat of rags again. He marries his childhood sweetheart
(Williams), has a little family and after being made redundant in his post as a
shipping clerk, borrows enough money to get the circus – aka museum of
curiosities - up and running. It gets
off to a slow start, but after Barnum’s children suggest more live acts he
seeks out a range of people to provide them.
The film advertises itself as being about acceptance, and bringing
people who were hidden into the light and placing them centre stage; this theme
is oft spoken of in the film and some of the songs are about it. It is a very interesting theme to explore
when looking at the history of circus, and it would be interesting to see a
heavier, more in-depth film about the same topic actually.
But to be honest, it was the days between Christmas and New
Year, it was fun, it was beautiful to watch, it had comedy and tragedy, and it
enough subplots (Zac Efron’s assistant ringmaster role and forbidden love
interest; and the character Jenny Lind’s concert tour) to maintain
interest.
The music and dancing were
feelgood, and we left feeling happy – what more can you ask for?
Efron is probably responsible for the large (and largely
female) youth audience; but I did notice again that the film seemed designed to
attract a young audience; it was rather like watching a combination of Harry
Potter and the Voice! But I like both of
those, so it was not in a bad way at all.
***.5
Cecil says: When Hugh Jackman begins to sing within ten seconds of the start of The Greatest Showman, I had to chuckle as I had been caught out just as I was in Sunshine on Leith, when the soldiers in the opening scene burst into song. I had no idea this was a musical but I quickly realised it was.
Funnily enough earlier in the day I had read a Tweet by someone who loved the soundtrack so much that she was planning on going straight out and buying the CD. Actually, by the end of the film, we were both thinking the same. The music was a central part of this film, and the voices were remarkably strong: who knew Jackman could sing that well?
The dancing is also fantastic. I guess to audition for a role in a film like this, you need to have all those skills that go along with voice projection and being able to get inside the role you are playing.
In the case of Zac Efron, I think his dancing skills outdo his ability to act, but boy can he move. I loved the scene towards the end where he swivels on his knees as he spins in to take centre stage. But the best scene of all for movement and choreography has to be on the ropes when Efron and Zendaya flirt with each other and move towards accepting their mutual attraction.
For me, the overall feel was as much a production that will go on to Broadway or the West End as it was The Voice (as Bea says). It is interesting how this style of film-making is taking hold at the moment. This one worked, though. It kept us awake and left us feeling good.
***
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