The Greatest Showman Review
Recently, I decided to entertain myself through the wide range of movies that have been released in the past months; however, "The Greatest Showman" happened to be the movie of choice that my sibling and I decided to give it a shot. Initially, we thought that just by picking a "Hugh Jackman" movie, the show is undoubtedly going to be a great one, the uniquely intriguing talent of Hugh Jackman is going to put the movie on fire; in fact, the Australian actor has been one of our favourite performers throughout the years, and we've come to the resolution that he never fails to impress simply because he extremely rarely takes the wrong route. As the journey started, we got to know the main character, Barnum, how he struggled since his childhood yet he never really lost hope or ambition; he's been through some serious times of desperation, yet it never truly sank deep inside the character that he's not going to make it. It's very wierd how we thought that the movie is going to strictly revolve around the main character, because the moment the secondary characters - who are not by any means secondary - started seeping through, the movie started to take a different approach.
It's definitely clear that this amazing musical movie is here to serve a greater end than just to entertain; the undercurrent messages the movie encases are just incredibly relatable. You can't treat people based on their exterior solely, you have to take a look deep inside in order to truly see what they are made of. Each and every character played a decently integral part of the entire show. The bearded lady, for instance, appears of nowhere - we're pretty astonished and curious when upon her debut - and at the beginning when Barnum finds her, she gives the illusion of a weak and neglected human being; however, as the show progresses, one can definitely see that she is very strong and more than willing to fight the wrong norms of the society she lives in; perhaps all she needed was a helping hand or a courageous soul that can show her that she is way more than her looks and her capabilities can suppress people's deluded mindsets. I believe that Barnum was just the right propeller to her; perhaps his intentions weren't quite righteous at the very beginning, yet with his guidance or without it, the bearded lady is enough on her own to pull herself out of the mud. Of course, the human being cannot live by his own, but people in our lives can only help us if we let them to. The most beautiful element about "The Greatest Showman", indeed, is that the movie brings out the positive effects of being and acting as a true human being, a true human being who doesn't encourage violence, hatred or bullying. On the contrary, the human being should encourage and promote love, compassion, solidarity and unity.
The most standout moment of the movie, however, that truly made it all more intriguing is the one in which Jenny Lind performs "Never Enough"; the performance was so powerful and emotive that it deliberately, unconsciously, imposed an aura of complete silence and attention to the very beautiful song and the very expressive performance.
And then there is the story of the forbidden love between Philip Carlyle and Anne Wheeler; their love is doomed before it even starts and their story poses forward the very jundumental and brutal views and opinions of an uncivilized society, a society that can separate two connected spirits only on basis of skin colour and social status. Yet, it's their decision not to surrender and to "Rewrite the Stars" willingly and in spite of what any one thinks or believes. And that's why Philip defiantly stands in the face of his parents and tells them that if being socially acceptable means letting go of the one you meant to be with, then he doesn't want to be accepted by this dark and weak society.
The dialogues are, also, very well-composed, effortlessly transferring meaning though the right words. Mr. Bennett from the Herald is one good character whose words convey to Barnum that all of his intentions are not as good as they seem. "The creed of a true fraud" is the line Mr. Bennett used to show Barnum that he's not what he pretends to be; he deceives people into fake entertainments, and is not apologetic about it. Yet, what seems to be initiated as pure business manoeuvres turns to be the greatest show ever, a show that concealingly celebrates humanity, wipes away unnecessary boundaries in an attempt to illuminate the best part of being human: equality.
It can be safely said that "The Greatest Showman" has successfully managed to retrieve the long lost love for musicals; before watching this spectacular movie, I don't honestly remember when was the last time I genuinely enjoyed watching and unravelling a musical journey. And despite his one of a kind history, Hugh Jackman never takes any thing for granted and he never ceases to fully impress and, most importantly, express. Watching Jackman as P.T. Barnum has conveyed the feeling that we almost never actually saw this veteran actor in action before - I totally forget he is the legendary Wolverine; he is not only one of the most important actors of all times, but also he is a hardworking and a genuine performer and human being.
Of course, the movie comes across as trying to not to miss out on any of the main elements of entertainment, and intellect as well; however, it gets slightly boring towards the end of the show and it's probably because the whole of the songs are well-written and also well-positioned, but one can't fully comprehend each song and its lyrics to the core due to the fact that there are way too many of them. Portraying what a narrow perspective and inhuman vision could do to people, turning them into soul-less creatures, and how a society, based on its shallowness, could disregard its resources due to discrimination, are the main themes initially conveyed by "The Greatest Showman"; and as you dig deep into the subplots, multiple themes are to smoothly emerge, these subplots are, unquestionably, the ones that hold the entire show together and transform it into the one alluring entity that it actually is!
It's definitely clear that this amazing musical movie is here to serve a greater end than just to entertain; the undercurrent messages the movie encases are just incredibly relatable. You can't treat people based on their exterior solely, you have to take a look deep inside in order to truly see what they are made of. Each and every character played a decently integral part of the entire show. The bearded lady, for instance, appears of nowhere - we're pretty astonished and curious when upon her debut - and at the beginning when Barnum finds her, she gives the illusion of a weak and neglected human being; however, as the show progresses, one can definitely see that she is very strong and more than willing to fight the wrong norms of the society she lives in; perhaps all she needed was a helping hand or a courageous soul that can show her that she is way more than her looks and her capabilities can suppress people's deluded mindsets. I believe that Barnum was just the right propeller to her; perhaps his intentions weren't quite righteous at the very beginning, yet with his guidance or without it, the bearded lady is enough on her own to pull herself out of the mud. Of course, the human being cannot live by his own, but people in our lives can only help us if we let them to. The most beautiful element about "The Greatest Showman", indeed, is that the movie brings out the positive effects of being and acting as a true human being, a true human being who doesn't encourage violence, hatred or bullying. On the contrary, the human being should encourage and promote love, compassion, solidarity and unity.
The most standout moment of the movie, however, that truly made it all more intriguing is the one in which Jenny Lind performs "Never Enough"; the performance was so powerful and emotive that it deliberately, unconsciously, imposed an aura of complete silence and attention to the very beautiful song and the very expressive performance.
And then there is the story of the forbidden love between Philip Carlyle and Anne Wheeler; their love is doomed before it even starts and their story poses forward the very jundumental and brutal views and opinions of an uncivilized society, a society that can separate two connected spirits only on basis of skin colour and social status. Yet, it's their decision not to surrender and to "Rewrite the Stars" willingly and in spite of what any one thinks or believes. And that's why Philip defiantly stands in the face of his parents and tells them that if being socially acceptable means letting go of the one you meant to be with, then he doesn't want to be accepted by this dark and weak society.
The dialogues are, also, very well-composed, effortlessly transferring meaning though the right words. Mr. Bennett from the Herald is one good character whose words convey to Barnum that all of his intentions are not as good as they seem. "The creed of a true fraud" is the line Mr. Bennett used to show Barnum that he's not what he pretends to be; he deceives people into fake entertainments, and is not apologetic about it. Yet, what seems to be initiated as pure business manoeuvres turns to be the greatest show ever, a show that concealingly celebrates humanity, wipes away unnecessary boundaries in an attempt to illuminate the best part of being human: equality.
It can be safely said that "The Greatest Showman" has successfully managed to retrieve the long lost love for musicals; before watching this spectacular movie, I don't honestly remember when was the last time I genuinely enjoyed watching and unravelling a musical journey. And despite his one of a kind history, Hugh Jackman never takes any thing for granted and he never ceases to fully impress and, most importantly, express. Watching Jackman as P.T. Barnum has conveyed the feeling that we almost never actually saw this veteran actor in action before - I totally forget he is the legendary Wolverine; he is not only one of the most important actors of all times, but also he is a hardworking and a genuine performer and human being.
Of course, the movie comes across as trying to not to miss out on any of the main elements of entertainment, and intellect as well; however, it gets slightly boring towards the end of the show and it's probably because the whole of the songs are well-written and also well-positioned, but one can't fully comprehend each song and its lyrics to the core due to the fact that there are way too many of them. Portraying what a narrow perspective and inhuman vision could do to people, turning them into soul-less creatures, and how a society, based on its shallowness, could disregard its resources due to discrimination, are the main themes initially conveyed by "The Greatest Showman"; and as you dig deep into the subplots, multiple themes are to smoothly emerge, these subplots are, unquestionably, the ones that hold the entire show together and transform it into the one alluring entity that it actually is!
A good comprehensive analysis
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