Dear Evan Hansen Movie Experience
My all time favorite musical is finally on the big screen!!!
This is the review I have been absolutely dying to write. The day is finally here, and it lived up to all expectations.
Let me just start by saying wow… The recreation of this musical on the big screen was just incredible. I know some of the early reviews have been pretty negative and stating that Ben Platt being 27 playing a teenager is weird. But to be real, he is THE ORIGINAL Evan Hansen and no one can do it like Ben Platt does and thats all I gotta say about that. Ignore that he doesn’t look 17, there is literally nobody else who perfects this role than the one who started it all. Opening the movie with Waving Through a Window just really gets the mood going immediately, I was dancing and singing from my wonderfully comfortable reclining movie theatre seat; feeling like it was my first time hearing the musical all over again. It was overwhelmingly clear from the beginning that this was going to be a fresh interpretation of the original story, keeping with some of the broadway dialogue/script but freshening it up with a more modern twist. I don’t necessarily understand why so many reviews are slamming this film, this musical won 5 Tony awards back in 2015. It is the story of a young boy who is deeply flawed, and the point of the entire story is that Evan Hansen thinks that he he needs to lie for people to see the good parts of him and he royally screws up. One of the most moving scenes of the entire film and musical is when Ben Platt opens up his mouth to sing the song “Words Fail.” This is a boy who crumbles emotionally and doesn’t know how to forgive himself for the false truth’s. He ends up coming clean and it leads him to start improving things about his own life like actually getting to know real things about Connor Murphy.
Then we have to talk about Julianne Moore singing “So Big/So Small.” This is an absolute tear jerker. Get your tissues out immediately. This was a moment I personally pictured myself sitting with my mom talking about my anxiety and feeling broken at some points the way Evan Hansen was and just wanting my mom to hug me and tell me everything is going to be okay. That was when I lost it. I really felt seen and heard which is what I think a lot of people enjoy about this musical. It really emphasizes the need for paying attention to mental health. It is more important than ever after this pandemic. After sobbing through about half of this movie I really have nothing but positive things to say, the entire cast was immensely talented and again ignore the fact that none of the “high school students” were actually teenagers. Ben Platt’s performance is absolutely unforgettable. After seeing this movie you all will understand what I mean.
Something I wasn’t sure about was adding new songs to an already known musical. Not that Amandla Stenberg’s performance wasn’t beautiful, it just was like throwing a wrench into the movie and I wasn’t quite sure what I felt about that. I think the directors missed out on having Connor Murphy’s dad sing about teaching Connor baseball during the scene when he hands Evan the baseball and the glove. It really would’ve been a big moment for the overall storyline. It makes the relationship come full circle, and they did only portray the almost broken relationship between Connor and his step father. Going into the movie with high expectations from the beloved Broadway musical, I was hoping it would be all original music. However, still I will not take away from just how much I loved this movie and how it impacts me just the same every-time I hear each song.
Go get your box of tissues and go get your tickets to Dear Evan Hansen now!
XOXO,
Rachel
