Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

In the words of P.T Barnum himself; there’s a sucker born every minute… and most of them probably went to see The Greatest Showman.

The poor son of a merchant, P.T Barnum (Hugh Jackman) has never let go of his dreams. First it was making something of himself so he could marry the girl of his dreams, but years later he has an itch to take an even bigger risk that just has to be scratched.

Barnum’s American Museum – A celebration of the weird and the wonderful; A freakishly tall man, a bearded lady and a ‘dog boy’ is only the start. Not just turning a profit by preying on the human obsession of the macabre, but giving the shunned and forgotten a chance to leave behind the shadows and shine.

Despite negative reviews and mounting protests about his ‘Freak Show’ Barnum rises above and keeps reaching. However as he continuously strives to shake the poverty of his past he may end up missing the gift of the present.

The Greatest Showman took off with a phenomenal start. Honestly I was drawn in before anything actually happened with the opening number. In five seconds I found myself ready to enjoy a movie I had walked into not expecting much from. Well Done.

Coming off of that, music is so subjective it’s hard to universal say whether something is amazing or just trash. With that said, personally I really enjoyed the majority of the songs, but it was more than that – it was also to do with the emotional placement of the numbers. In that The Greatest Showman hit its mark time and time again, as did Keala Settle (the bearded lady). Daymn can she sing! Honestly. Chills.

Final round of applause goes to the main man himself – Hugh Jackman. Seriously, how is this guy playing a potty mouthed steel clawed mutant one minute and a singing dancing, day dreamer the next?

You can say what you will about The Greatest Showman but you can’t ignore that Hugh Jackman is one multi-talented actor. Good show man, very good show.

You know what. I don’t really have any major negatives about the movie. It did what it was supposed to do; be a lighthearted well meaning semi autobiographical movie.

I suppose if I had to nitpick…

Story wise I guess instead of the nameless mob who protested Barnum’s show and made offensive comments, it would have added a deeper layer of empathy if one of the ‘freaks’ was being bullied on a personal level.

That’s pretty much it – yes the story was a little thin in places and outlandish in others but it wasn’t enough to offend.

I’m a sucker for a cheesy musical and The Greatest Showman was a nice way for me to end the year in cinema.

It was a clever and unique way to tell the story of American Showman P.T Barnum. Yes the movie chose to adopt the lighter elements of P.T Barnum’s history, and at periods seemed to just be an over the top fluff piece… but you know what, sometimes that’s okay.

In the age of superhero movie universes trying to outdo one another, I’m all for more modern musicals so roll up roll up.