The noblest art is that of making others happy.
- P.T. Barnum
Feeling happiness is not a choice we make. It's much easier to make people cry than to laugh.'The Greatest Showman' is a charming, speculator musical and dance biopic about the life and works of P.T. Barnum, the father of lighted circuses in pursuing happiness. With outstanding music, grandiose locations, and flamboyant clothes; the story outline of the movie is very simple yet showed how Barnum has gone through an emotional ride to finally realize that family and togetherness are over any luxuries or fame. The story is more about happiness, love, and friendship than about just success.
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Keala Settle, Loren Allred, Sam Humphrey,
Director: Michael Gracey
Synopsis:
Hugh Jackman, as P.T. Barnum, invites the viewer to walk into a land of imagination and sprinkles in a dash of flawed human reality. "I walked away, holding the cane of my own circus high and with a renewed hope that I could get through all circumstances, even ones I ran headstrong into screaming, "This is what I want!", only to find out that it wasn't what I needed." P.T. Barnum, the founder of the three-ring circus, started with nothing; but he envisioned a grand spectacle of theater, acrobatics, and amusement. Barnum pulled people together who the world might otherwise have ignored. And by bringing each of these people into the light, he created a family who was always going to be there for each other. In the course of the film, Barnum almost loses both his real family and his circus family – but then you watch him discover that the most important thing he can do is bring them both back together again. 
In P.T. Barnum's day, the class was something one was born into, with no escape, though the idea of class mobility was on the rise, thanks to the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment. After the French and American revolutions, culture was on its way to modern democracies. This movie is a nod to how entertainment began to reflect these changes. Today, classical entertainment like ballet and theater combines with the liberal and diverse entertainment of fringe ideas like the circus, to make what we consider modern entertainment, movies, and television.
We don't quite take for granted the diversity and acceptance we enjoy in our contemporary world (evident in ongoing racism and other discrimination against LGBTQ people), but we are still a world away from the 19th century. But, Barnum was clearly ahead of his time, thanks to being an upwardly mobile individual himself (a rarity for the time), and having a bold and somewhat narcissistic personality.
Review:
Barnum’s story is about not limiting your imagination, about using what’s in your head to create new worlds.” This is a film about taking risks, following your dreams, and celebrating what makes each and every one of us unique. A big idea in the film is that your real wealth is the people that you surround yourself with and the people who love you." The Greatest Showman" positions itself as a story celebrating diversity, and the importance of embracing all kinds. . I think what is most striking about this story at this moment in history is that Barnum embraced and promoted an inevitable cultural phenomenon, even though he himself might not have been fully aware of its impact. His main motivation, after all, was to be a legitimate upper-class person, not to unite the masses. He was simply a vessel through which that occurred. The story is of course, embellished for dramatic effect, but still believable. The soundtrack of this movie is without flaw. As with the songs for The Greatest Showman, the design aesthetic blends vintage and new – hurtling the 19th century of P.T. Barnum into the future of today
Michael Gracey skillfully brought together the best music, choreography, cast, cinematography, visual effects, costumes, and set decoration, all fresh and original, and integrated them into nothing short of a masterpiece. I am so intrigued, energetic, enthusiastic, and inspired by Zac Efron's performance as Phillip Carlyle as he truly embodied the transformative character. Keala Settle's performance as the "bearded lady" is one of the many keys to why "The Greatest Showman" is so effective. She understands the spirit of the project, and you watch her transformation from cringing shame to fearless Diva. Her anthemic "This Is Me" is one of the emotional centers of the film. Rebecca Ferguson plays Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale," whom Barnum took on a whirlwind concert tour through America. Jenny Lind's power ballad "Never Enough" makes you understand why Barnum, backstage, falls in love with her instantly, throwing his marriage into crisis. Ferguson may be lip-synching to Loren Allred's breathtaking vocals, but it is her performance that carries. "Rewrite the Stars," the love song between Efron and Zendaya, taking place in the empty circus tent, is a moment when the film—every element onscreen—merges and transforms into pure emotion. This is what a musical can do like no other art form.
The film teaches us to buy into the dream and pay to be befuddled. Be wide-eyed for a while and feel your heart tingle with the roller coaster of melodies and revelations that no matter where you come from in life...sometimes, you're the "bearded lady" in the room, and sometimes you're the affluent spectator. Do things as a team and not by yourself. Working hard and taking a little bit of risk can create success. Comfort is an enemy of success.
"Without promotion, something terrible happens...nothing!"
- Phineas Taylor Barnum
Flaws and Weakness:
Looking past the sparkling variables of this movie, it covers the industry that led to 140 years of extreme animal abuse. Barnum was the very first man to exhibit numerous live exotic animal shows and exhibits by blasting the overall message of equality, the brutal reality of the circus, and the effects it had on its animal counterparts is lost. To give a clear, overall account of the circus, I think it would have been beneficial to include some of these historical and moral aspects. The story pursues way too many directions. Despite all of the other elements coming together to create a sensory masterpiece, the lack of cohesion, depth, and follow-through in the story leaves the viewer feeling detached and a bit confused at times.
Ignoring the flaws all the characters are well-portrayed by the cast and well thought out, giving them splendid backgrounds and meaning. Also, the true message of the movie was fabulous and something that everyone can relate to. The end performance will definitely give you feel of triumph. One must watch this movie who has a different taste and like different concepts in a film and adore the work of unique filmmakers.
0 Comments