[Review] Dear Evan Hansen (7/10)

 

Title - Dear Evan Hansen
Studio - Marc Platt Productions, Perfect World Pictures, Universal Pictures
Starring - Ben Platt, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amy Adams, Danny Pino, Amandla Stenberg, Nik Dodani, Colton Ryan
Writer - Steven Levenson
Director - Stephen Chbosky
Release - 24 September 2021

I was really taken by surprise the first time I saw this trailer as it gripped me from the start. Then later finding out that it was an adaptation from a musical that still is running successfully in theatres. 

However, critics feedback has not been kind, and fans of the musical have been leaving cinemas disappointed due to certain plot changes.

But I found the movie as a whole was very effective. It could be argued that it was shaky getting there but it got there.

Sure, Ben Platt looked way too old to be playing the part, which was very apparent in the trailers. But once the movie started, that did not bother me at all because Platt played the role so well, which shouldn't be any surprise since he created the role.

A few musical numbers were very powerful. The most memorable ones were the first number which introduced Evan Hansen, and then the second one as Evan faked his way around the dinner table and as Amy Adams reacted so beautifully in her performance.

Julianne Moore also had a very touching number that just brought tears to my eyes because her performance was so good (though her singing felt a little shaky or auto-tuned).

There was also one fun and upbeat number that could be argued as jarring and out of place, but the way it was done up I had a lot of laughs and fun with it.

There were a few key lessons for viewers, a little heavy handed but still effective; like how the world today only wants to record negativity to share on social media, or how people like Evan are often left out or ignored in the attention of those around him.

And yes, there were some plot points that did not quite make sense, like the weird kick-starter programme to save an orchard. Why was there a tight deadline for it and why did the orchard need funding? This was really weak and it was kind of a lynchpin for the third act. 

But I did not watch this in the cinema and I was in the comfort of my own room due to the current cinema shut-down. So maybe this was a more lenient watch and I didn't mind the length at all because the performances were top notched and the musical numbers were beautiful.