By all of my usual standards, I should have hated this movie. In fact, I have a list of reasons that I normally would hate it:
- Predictable
- Somewhat cheesy at times
- Repetitive music style
- I don't usually like musicals
- There were some moments that felt kinda feminazi (with Lettie, the bearded lady)
- Barnum left his wife and kids and went on a tour with the Jenny instead
- A little historically inaccurate
- Very unrealistic
AND YET....
There's something about it that is captivating. There is so much pure ENERGY and EXCITEMENT that just exudes from the screen to the audience. This movie is full of SOUL, and you can tell that it was made with lots of genuine effort and enthusiasm. It's exhilarating, in a way, to watch. As a musician, it makes me "feel" the spotlight, so to speak. That adrenaline, heart-racing, thrilling moment that leaves you breathless--you're terrified beforehand, shaky and relieved afterward, but in the moment? In the moment, all you feel is that pure and un-defiled ENERGY coursing through you. That's what this movie felt like. Now, on to the actual reviewing:
Film Quality/Aesthetic:
Stunning. The group dance numbers and all the choreography was beautiful. The visual aspect of the movie was, overall, very lovely and well done. It was unique and lovely, in a really exciting way. (Also how can you Not Like the amazing song and dance skills?)
Characters:
Not too complicated, not too simple. They were easy to like and sympathize with, and all well-portrayed.
Content:
Not too much to warn against, actually. There is one song that uses a repeated expletive but you can pretend that they say "now" instead--it sounds basically the same. There is some drinking, but it is mainly used as a percussive effect in a couple of the songs. Naturally, there are leotard-wearing women in the circus, but nothing seems gratuitous or over-the-top.
Plot:
It is very predictable at times, and not the deepest or most profound plot, but it's still decent. I mean, it's a musical, what do you expect, a Charles Dickens plot??? As far as musicals go, it was good.
Overall Impressions:
Like I said, I should have hated this movie. But there was just something very strong in the way that it was presented that made me not discard it as just another old musical. I really don't know how to summarize it. It's almost as if I have logically weighed my opinion and decided that I don't WANT to like this movie, but I would still like to watch it again. I'm reluctantly captivated.
