Hi there, Blog Reader. First, I have to explain my scoring system for rating films. I will give them a rating out of 100 with 30 points available for the story, 30 for music, 30 for how the film captivates me (acting, pacing, set pieces, etc.) and the last 10 will be my rating of how likely I am to recommend it to a friend. OK, so now for the reasons:- 1 – Not just for musical fans First of all, I have to say; if you are not a fan of musicals then this might still be for you, so don’t write it off just yet. My wife suggested going to the cinema to see this one Saturday afternoon, and I wasn’t overly convinced. Now don’t get me wrong – I count Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserable amongst my favourite films, but having watched Logan the previous night, the idea of seeing Hugh Jackman go from the gruff near-immortal Wolverine to the kind, gentle and bright-eyed PT Barnum seemed almost too much of a juxtaposition. Suffice to say; I was not disappointed. Barely a minute into the film the idea of Hugh being Logan had been wholly washed from my mind to the point where I could have said different actors were playing them. 2 – The story is uplifting and upsetting in equal measure It follows PT Barnum and the creation of the first circus while aptly showing the effect it has on multiple groups, from the performers to his family to society in general. There are many themes at play within the film, but I would like to say the prevalent one is overcoming adversity. It is full of examples of discrimination through class, race and physical appearance and strives to show the characters overcoming these, through a mix of changing the status quo for the better and accepting themselves for who they are rather than who society wants them to be. 3 – The score will blow you away There are some powerful voices in the score, with the bearded lady (Keala Settle) bringing the house down with her astounding vocal range sending sparks of electricity down your spine as she pours everything into each song, not to mention the exceptional abilities of Hugh Jackman, Anne Wheeler and Zac Efron. I found the film to have a great mix of song and story without either tripping over each other. Sometimes musicals have a habit of singing conversations which would have been better just spoken instead. To my memory, there is only one song in the film that is an actual sang conversation between the characters and is a scene in the bar. I won’t spoil it but the mix of song, acting and movement (not to mention the humour from both characters and the barman) were a wonder to see, and still has my number one spot for best scene in the movie. We enjoyed the film so much we had to stop off and buy the soundtrack on the way home, and I have to say I have lost count of the number of times I have listened to it since. It is uplifting and powerful. If you are feeling down or self-conscious at all, it has an impressive ability to give you a boost when you most need it. 4 – It is an all round feel good film There are many scenes in this film I could comfortably name as my favourite, from the new love to the old, from the eagerness to make something of yourself to the setbacks and heartache, this film does not disappoint. We were utterly captivated from the very first chords of the first song to the start of the ending credits, entirely moved by the story, happy with the various character arcs and not left wanting. As the scores will reflect below, we came out of the film filled with the wow feeling of seeing an excellent movie and the experience will stay with us forever. 5 – Total recommendation I would happily and wholeheartedly recommend this film to friends, my dear readers of this blog, casual acquaintances, and random people in the street - in fact, anyone who will listen. As I mentioned above, the soundtrack has an uplifting quality, and I have used this to cheer me up and encourage me after a hard day at work.
My score for this film is - Story - 30/30 Music - 30/30 Captivation - 30/30 Recommendation - 10/10 Total Score - 100/100 I look forward to picking up the book “The Life Of PT Barnum” and adding it to my bookshelves, and this is a must-buy when the DVD comes out. I hope you take my recommendation and feel the same. See you again soon Blog Reader!
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Craig BoldyBorn in South Yorkshire, he lives there with his wife and Labrador. Working a normal 9-5 while filling his nights with writing. Categories
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November 2018
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