The journey from stage to screen is often dangerous and “Dear Evan Hansen.”
Broadway showAfter starring Ben Platt as a lonely and anxious teenager, exaggerating his friendship with another more hostile lonely person who kills himself, he created a sensation on social media.won 6 Tony Awards in 2017Includes the best new musical and acting honors for Pratt’s Starmaking Performance. Here, from book writers Stephen Levenson and songwriters Benji Pasek and Justin Paul (“La La Land”), it was a Broadway musical that did not sugar-coat adolescent pain, sadness, or longing for acceptance.
But when Stephen Chbosky’s film version debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, much of his love for “Dear Evan Hansen” seems to have disappeared. The film tweaks the musical in several ways, but it’s pretty much true to the stage show. The script and song come again from Levenson, Pasek and Paul. Pratt replays the role of Evan.
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What’s wrong? Did the two sets of critics see much the same thing and draw very different conclusions? “Dear Evan Hansen”, like its core character, was a viral phenomenon under false assumptions, but did the flaw finally become apparent?
The answer, I think, is both bits. “Dear Evan Hansen” deserves praise for its good intentions, like a star-studded after-school special. The way to try to empathize with every character you touch in the high school world is only more endangered by social. media. By itself, “Dear Evan Hansen” should be recommended to a wide range of young people who find uplifting and supportive in its “getting better” message. It also does not always have a firm grasp of its own melodic manipulation, as expected in the story of using the suicide of a minor character as the starting point of the hero’s redemption arc, the arrival of the era. It is a moral story that tells.
However, I think the biggest problem with “Dear Evan Hansen” is that it has plagued many musical adaptations before that. A heavy lift from an isolated stage setting to physical reality. The pressure is even greater as “Dear Evan Hansen” seeks to take emotional realism seriously. But in the more recognizable “real world,” the false note of “Dear Evan Hansen” makes a loud noise.
And nothing is more off-key than Pratt’s performance. The 27-year-old Pratt, a talented actor, has been a character for 10 years.Such a discrepancy Sometimes it can be masked or overlooked, In the case of “Dear Evan Hansen”, it is fatal. It’s not hard to understand why filmmakers are attracted to casting Pratt in his defined role. Especially in songs, he soars. But his old way-curly hair, swelling shoulders, striped polo shirts-only enhances the mismatch. It’s hard not to imagine the sketches of “Saturday Night Live” that have probably already been written in many of the movies. But beyond age differences, Pratt’s performance is always reminiscent of the Broadway artificiality of the film striving for something real.
Chbosky (“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, “Wonder”) seems to be perfectly suited for filmmakers who specialize in both young life and multi-generational empathy stories. , Includes Kaitlyn Dever, Julianne Moore, Amandla Stenberg, Amy Adams.
The movie begins with Evan writing to himself at the direction of the therapist. “Dear Evan Hansen,” he writes. “Today will be a great day, and that’s why.” At school, Evan’s only friend (Nik Dodani) claims he’s just a “family friend.” Both his loneliness and awkwardness are perfect. One day at the library he stole Evan’s letter from the printer and exchanged it with his alumni Connor Murphy (Colton Ryan), who wrote his name on Evan’s cast with an ironic threat. When Connor dies, his parents (Adams, Danny Pino) find Evan’s letter in his pocket, and I think it was written by Connor. Evan can’t tell her the truth because the mother is obsessed with the happiness of her son’s life.
Well-meaning lies lead to much more, and Evan soon realizes that he is almost part of Connor’s family, including his sister (Dever, especially good). Evan dies and becomes Connor’s increasingly famous spokesperson. It’s all a lie and will eventually collapse, but for Evan there is truth. When he talks about Connor’s loneliness, he talks about himself. For the honor of the film, it does not suggest that social media fame will ultimately bring salvation, but instead elicits the Third Act Atonement for Evan. The film, which cuts four songs from the stage show, seems to be clearly paying attention to improving some of the musical-specific problems.
Just as Broadway opens, many musicals are landing on the screen. Recently, there are live taping of “In the Heights”, “Come From Away” and “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”. Soon there will be “Tick, Tick … Boom!” “Cirano” and “West Side Story”. In the meantime, “Dear Evan Hansen” will probably be taken up as a tale. Not all stage hits look so good in close-up.
The Universal Pictures release, Dear Evan Hansen, has been rated by the American Film Institute as PG-13 for subject matter that includes suicide, concise and strong language, and some thought-provoking references. Execution time: 137 minutes. 2 out of 4 stars.
Follow AP film writer Jake Coil on Twitter. http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Copyright 2021 AP communication. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
Review: Broadway hits never get old in “Dear Evan Hansen” | Entertainment
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