spelmo

I went to see this movie with high expectations being a HUGE fan of the musical and the score.

I don't think this is a perfect adaptation: the overall directing is painfully average for a story this powerful, some moments feel too long, too stretched... honestly a lot of things could have been better, especially comparing it to Spielberg's West Side Story that I saw about a week before (and thought was brilliantly directed). The visual direction (photography) was a big miss for me, I would have liked something sharper, more modern, hinting at the stage art direction.

That being said, the story, characters, songs and acting performances the movie is based on are just so strong, powerful and emotional that it still works. The emotions are definitely there, they are complex and beautiful. I get that the story can make some people uncomfortable but that's kind of the whole point, and what sets this story apart: the characters are incredibly real, they are not black and white, and despite their shortcomings, you get to empathise with every single one of them. You get to feel everyone's pain, everyone's point of view, everyone's flaws. The depiction of the different ways of grieving, of dealing with anxiety, dealing with being a single parent, or being a child of a single parent, etc. It is just very moving.

Ben Platt faced a lot of backlash for this but it is so uncalled for. He is absolutely incredible in every single possible way, his acting and singing are just out of this world. Word fail is my favorite song from the musical, and it was just perfect in this adaptation, he managed to make it even better than his own original recording. I hear the age point, and I agree that having a teenager play the role would have been nice (to bring something more candid to the character) but honestly his performance is the best thing about this movie.

I also appreciated Amy Adams performance as Connor's mom, it really sold Evan's lie for me, maybe better than in the play.

I would say that apart from Ben, singing-wise the rest of the cast is disappointing, but the songs being what they are, it works nonetheless. I read quite a few reviews here on IMDB saying the songs are bad, boring etc. And I just ...??? Excuse me?? You mean the score that won the Tony for best original score and Grammy for best musical album, that score is boring? Well, I guess some people just shouldn't have been granted ears to put them to such waste. These songs are gems, each of them a masterclass in songwriting, both music and lyrics-wise. I have been binging these songs for more than 3 years and I just can't get enough of them. I thought the new song "The anonymous ones" didn't bring anything to the story. However, I was sold to "A little closer" that just ties the story up in a better way than in the musical.

Overall, it's just an averagely directed adaptation of a really great story with great songs and a stellar performance from its lead actor. Worth the time and tears.

I saw both the stage version live and the 1961 movie in the past, and even though I always loved the music and dance numbers, I was never really sold or engaged by the storytelling. I would go as far as saying that the story almost bored me on both the movie and stage musical.

This adaptation from Spielberg however manages to turn the characters into real people, the situations get higher stakes, the emotion is palpable. The quality of the songs and musical numbers are impressive, but they always were, you can't do West Side Story without it. But those numbers are greatly enhanced by a really dynamic direction from Spielberg. A direction, that stays masterful throughout and that is really working with the score of the movie.

The acting is so much more real that the 61 movie, Ariana DeBose is simply incredible at both singing and dancing, but her acting chops are really shining here. She carried the movie for me, even though to be fair, all the cast did a great job.

The focus on giving an emotional story and emotional performances from the actors was the way to go, and it is what makes this adaptation a great one. I cried so much (mostly thanks to DeBose and Moreno's performances) throughout the second part of the movie, while I had never shed one tear on the stage musical nor the 61 movie that never managed to move me.

Overall this new adaptation is clearly a love letter to the source material, not trying to reinvent what was already working, but enhancing what wasn't to make it a movie that can move people from our generations.