“No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else,” Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum says in The Greatest Showman. He was the dreamer who created showbiz by showcasing unique talent and diversity.
Director Michael Gracey and Jackman have created a musical that’s unique in its own way. It’s set in the 1850s but with contemporary music and choreography which is edgy and exciting and there’s no lack of energy. The tunes by Academy Award winning duo, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, (La La Land, Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen) are catchy. You could not only be singing on your way out of the theater, but you may want to pick up a few of the dance steps, too. We could definitely see this even more as a theater piece staged on Broadway.
Jackman and Australian director Gracey had worked together on commercials and one day Jackman suggested, “Hey, we should do a movie together.” it took years for Jackman to find the right project, but once Gracey got on board, he became a greater pitchman than P.T. Barnum himself. There are stories of his relentless 45 minute diatribes passionately presenting to any producer or crew member who’d listen. What he liked was the ability to make a film celebrating what’s unique about each character and the wealth you have in the friendships around you like in one of his film favorites, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
The opening credits are black and white which makes the colorful opening production number pop from the get go. Seeing horses prancing in rhythm to the music across a circus ring in hazy light is magical and lets you know you’re going to see a show. It’s not only the story of how P.T.Barnum went from pauper to showman, but tells the stories of what happened when he showcased people with peculiarities or unusual talents in his show who were ostracized and treated like outsiders and freaks.
You get to know the backstory of each as Barnum is interviewing and casting the Greatest Show on Earth. Casting this film must’ve been a fascinating process as well, from tall or tattooed men, to the smallest man in the world. (The real Barnum actually took the tallest woman and Tom Thumb, the shortest man in his company, to visit Abraham Lincoln in the White House in 1862).
Casting Broadway actress Keala Settle as The Bearded Lady is genius. Settle was a little overwhelmed the first day on the set. Jackman had to pull her out from hiding, but she won’t be hiding any more. Her voice is amazing belting out “This Is Me.” She and the song are already getting a lot of notice.
Zac Efron and Zendaya are former Disney stars who blossom in this film. Because she is Black and he is White, they represent a romantic relationship not accepted then and in some places, now. Their dramatic duet doing aerobatics with ropes a la Cirque du Soleil is one of the highlights of the film. Swinging and manipulating the ropes in a well choreographed dance is captivating. Neither had done such before. Efron calls Zendaya the risk taker. She is so slight and her arms so thin, we questioned whether she really did the stunts. But she did. The camera perspectives of their interaction up high and looking up at their stunts from the ground is a well-edited ballet on ropes.
Efron says watching Jackman perform and his energy was inspiring for him and the cast. They’d show up for 3 hour dance sessions and go longer willingly. The choreography is crisp and the use of props, particularly hopping up on the bar in a saloon and pouring shots is precise and entertaining. They look like they’re having fun.
Michelle Williams actually dances on a rooftop with Jackman in a scene reminiscent of the romantic Gene Kelly/Fred Astaire musicals with Ginger Rogers or Leslie Caron in flowing chiffon. The overhead camera perspective of the choreography on the edge of the rooftop are beautifully shot by Irish Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey (Nocturnal Animals, Anna Karenina). Williams admits that she was only allowed to watch musicals growing up and it was a dream come true getting the chance to be swung up in the air by Jackman and call it work. She actually sings, too.
Writer Michael Arndt says these actors really put themselves into it. With great actors, you end up just cutting lines, because they can convey the message before they even open their mouth. But there’s also plenty of talking. It gets a little too dramatic in the middle with Barnum fighting those continually critical of his hair brained schemes. Even the local theater critic continually pans Barnum and his presentations. And then he criticizes the critic for not being able to just have fun. It gets very ugly when townspeople attack the showman and burn down what he’s built, just because his band of unusual entertainers are different.
The real Barnum said “Show business has all phases and grades of dignity, from the exhibition of a monkey to the exposition of that highest art in music or the drama which secures for the gifted artists a world-wide fame princes well might envy.” His eye for talent wasn’t just for the bizarre. When Barnum heard Swedish Opera singer, Jenny Lind, sing, he arranged to accompany her on a world tour at $1,000 a week which cast doubt on his loyalty to his marriage. The weak link in the film is the casting of Rebecca Ferguson Jenny Lind. Ferguson is stunning as Lind. Her costumes are breathtaking and appearance on stage is striking. But it didn’t look like she was really singing. The lip syncing just didn’t ring true. Her song, “Never Enough” is actually sung by Loren Allred.
The message is clear in this film, It’s ok to have dreams, fail and start over again, and it’s ok to be different. The theme of diversity runs throughout.The choreography and the costumes are much more sophisticated than they were in Barnum’s day. Both are exceptional in this film. Jackman brings great energy to his role. And even though he’s sung before on Broadway in The Boy from Oz and live on film for Les Miserables, this time he worked with Broadway vocal coach Liz Caplan and says it’s the first time he really learned to love singing. This film may not be the greatest show, but in this film, Jackman is the greatest showman.
Twentieth Century Fox 105 minutes PG
