The Greatest Showman
The greatest show on Earth, yet it's never enough, Never! Never! ♪♫
Every human being with dreams always aims for success; we tend to sacrifice everything without becoming aware that a part of us has been taken away. However, most of us want to fit in for them to be accepted by society, and that actions have caused a lot more damage to their aspects of life. "The Greatest Showman" reminds us to dream, show benevolence and focus on what truly matters.
The musical film follows the story of Phineas Taylor Barnum, a 19th-century entertainer with a sense of fascination with his remarkable life, but at the expense of its intriguing real-life story. In the early 1800s, P.T. Barnum longed to be accepted by the preeminent crust of society as he was a son working with his tailor father, Philo. They both arrived at the home of Mr. Hallett and his daughter Charity Hallett; as they are working for them, young P.T. Barnum falls for Hallett's daughter and marries Charity after they were reunited as adults. Barnum marries Charity and lives a humble life with two beautiful daughters. Charity is contented, yet Barnum craves more success in life. After trying his hands at various jobs, Barnum turns to show business to indulge his limitless imagination, rising from nothing to create Barnum's American Museum, featuring various wax figures. However, ticket sales are slow, so his daughters, Caroline, and Helen suggest showcasing something "alive." The persevering family then adds unique performers called "freaks," featuring eye-catchy musical numbers, exotic performers, and daring acrobatics, such as the bearded lady and dwarf man. However, this garners excellent attendance, protests, and poor reviews from a well-known critic Gordon Bennett, soon naming it the Barnum & Bailey "Circus." Barnum partners his business with Philip, and with his partnership, soon adored by the world, as a famous singer Jenny Lind agrees to tour America with him as his manager. Barnum's sensational circus soon takes the world to become the greatest show on Earth.
Hugh Jackman plays the intriguing real-life story of Phineas Taylor Barnum with his strong will character that made the audience have high expectations towards the movie itself. Portraying the story of a historic showman is going to be met with high expectations. The same goes for her wife, Charity Barnum, which Michelle Williams played. She played the role very gracefully, with all the songs and dances together with his husband were flawlessly performed. Zac Efron played the role of Philip Carlyle, a fictional character, and Zendaya as Anne Wheeler. They were fantastic during their aerial stunts same goes with their vocals as they sang "Rewrite the Stars," and their chemistry was there. Rebecca Ferguson as Jenny Lind and Keala Settle as Lettie Luz (bearded woman) made me goosebumps every time they sang; hearing their voice was out of this world. Overall, the characters are so indefatigable and marvelous that it's impossible to hate. They successfully gave the audience shades of emotions that it is impossible not to get invested.
I appreciate the production, choreography, songwriters, and all the people who are behind the camera. However, the film bothers me for the reason that The Greatest Showman was whitewashed; it is historically inaccurate. The controversial success history of Barnum was that he grew rich by exploiting his era's culture of racial subjugation and enslavement for his personal gain. Despite its criticisms, the audiences embraced the film seeing that its displays a lighthearted expression of joy. Not to mention, The Greatest Showman soundtrack hit N0. 1 on the Billboard charts after four weeks and became the best-selling soundtrack for the year 2018.
As they have said, any art form always creates a critical message to communicate. The musical film positions itself as a story celebrating diversity, humanity, and the importance of embracing all kinds of every living thing from its shapes, sizes, and color as equals. It presents positive lessons without being controversial: don't judge people by their backgrounds; always follow your heart because it will lead to success. To quote Barnum's phrase, 'the noblest art is making people happy'.
The movie is rated PG, and it is not suitable for children under eight years old, knowing that there are some disturbing scenes wherein it shows sexual references, alcohol, drugs, and other substances, nudity, and sexual activity. Some intense moments and content could scare younger viewers. Parents must discuss the ethics of having animals perform in circuses and some non-intentional usage of terms such as calling the unique people' freak', but this is how some people use it.
The Greatest Showman is something I could watch repeatedly and never get tired of it. I give this movie from a scale-out of 1-5: 4.3/5
Dave S. Deguiñon is a determined senior high school student from the Asian College of Technology- IS, studied there for 14 years and is taking up Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) as her strand. In her leisure time, graphite painting, dancing, and surfing on social media are her hobbies. diserydavedeguinon.blogspot.com
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