The Greatest Showman (2017)

Directed by: Michael Gracey | 99 minutes | biography, drama | Actors: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Austyn Johnson, Cameron Seely, Keala Settle, Sam Humphrey, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eric Anderson, Ellis Rubin, Skylar Dunn, Daniel Everidge, Radu Spinghel, Yusaka Komori, Daniel Son, Paul Sparks

People were outraged when Phineas Taylor (PT) Barnum renamed his newly acquired Scrudder’s American Museum in New York to Barnum’s American Museum in 1841 and displayed all manner of rarities there. The stuffed animals and wax figures soon turned out to be hardly attracting visitors, so Barnum decided to exploit people with deviant appearances. He contracted, among others, Tom Thumb (a short man), the Irish giant (who was actually from Eastern Europe), the Fat Man, Siamese twins, the woman with the beard and Dog Boy, a man who was extremely hairy over his hair. whole body. Together with live animals, trapeze artists and other notable appearances they formed The Barnum & Bailey Circus. The freak show brought Barnum a lot of money, but at least as much criticism. In the nineteenth century it was mainly the fact that people did not want to be confronted with these ‘freaks’; these days, it’s mostly exploiting people to get rich that Barnum’s critics fall for.

In the musical biopic about the life of PT Barnum, ‘The Greatest Showman’ (2017), however, there is hardly a critical note to note. Instead, Barnum’s tireless entrepreneurial spirit and his mission to make his dreams come true is romantically incensed. Barnum (the ever charming and enthusiastic Hugh Jackman) comes from humble backgrounds and from an early age, after the death of his father, is dependent on his own ingenuity. As a child, he already hooked up with Charity (Michelle Williams), a girl from a wealthy family who finds in him the way to escape from her suffocating environment. Barnum is an optimist and an opportunist pur sang. The type who doesn’t sit in sackcloth when he is fired, but goes dancing on the rooftops with his wife and daughters. He always finds a way to overcome adversity. With securities he took with him from his previous employer, he manages to get a loan from the bank. With that money he buys Scrudder’s American Museum. And the rest is, as they say, history.

‘The Greatest Showman’ is a musical, packed with songs by the successful composer duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (‘La La Land’, 2016). In this case, that means the actors burst into song all the time, which takes the momentum out of the story enormously. Moreover, a choice has been made for modern, danceable music, which has an alienating effect in a nineteenth-century setting. Every effort is made to exploit the musical intermezzos as much as possible. In beautiful sets, with strong choreographies and beautiful clothing, one cheering show tamer after another is put on the stage, in which bombastic gestures are not shunned. The result of all that attention for the music is that the story has to suffer from it. The relationship between PT and Charity remains superficial; even when acclaimed Swedish singer Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson), whom Barnum brings to the US, stirs things up a bit, the couple manages to overcome any bumps in their marriage. The blossoming romance between the better-born groomsman Philip Carlysle (Zac Efron) and the dark trapeze girl Anne Wheeler (Zendaya) is approached just as superficially.

Instead, the emphasis is on making your dreams come true, continuing to believe in yourself and a positive outlook on life. The ‘freaks’ finally feel seen and appreciated and have finally found their ‘family’. The fact that Barnum actually exploited them is conveniently brushed under the carpet, because that does not fit in with the positive vibe of this exuberant musical. When you go to see this film, judge it mainly for what it is: an extravagant celebration of life, which has lost sight of reality, but which also pretends to be no more than a light-hearted escape from reality.