“The Greatest Showman” by Michael Gracey

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Table of Contents

Premise
Characterization
Plot and Structure
Dialogue
Originality
Scenes
Visual Presentation
Works Cited

One of the great expectations of 2017, ‘The Great Showman’ received the majority of mixed reviews. Although it was generally positively accepted by spectators and even received some awards, not all critical reviews found positive commentaries for the plot, director, and the movie as a whole (Travers; Lawson; Collin).

Premise

Directed by Michael Gracey, the film is a biographical drama and a musical at the same time. It presents the story of how show business was born. In fact, the movie is a story of a visionary who created an amazing spectacle and became famous worldwide. The story begins with depicting the main character, Phineas Taylor Barnum, as a young boy who helps his father working as a tailor. He gets acquainted with a girl named Charity. Although her farther forbids him to come to the girl, they remain friends and marry when they grow older. Later, Barnum works for a trading company until it is closed. He attempts to work for himself and takes a loan to open the museum of oddities, but this idea fails. Still, he continues searching for unique people and renames his show as “P.T. Barnum’s Circus” that performs in America and abroad and becomes successful.

Characterization

The main character of the movie is a penniless but ambitious young man Phineas Taylor Barnum. His story is that of a man who made himself and achieved everything he desired. His beloved wife, Charity, is another significant character. She is a support for her husband and a keeper of their family. Phillip Carlyle, a playwright, is a character that brought in new ideas to Barnum’s Circus and their cooperation took the show higher level. On the whole, the acting of characters is good.

Plot and Structure

The plot is not too complicated and quite predictable, which can be considered a weakness of the movie. Still, unexpected turns are not characteristic of musicals. The typical structure is followed. The film opens with character presentation, then the plot develops to the climax, and the final scene brings the movie to the end.

Dialogue

The dialogues are well-written. The conversations are logical and sound natural. However, the major dialogue is found in songs. Some critics claim they are too simple, but still songs in the movie are emotional and suit the scenes where they are used (Hann). Moreover, ‘The Greatest Showman’ was nominated for Oscar for these songs. Thus, music is a strong point of the film.

Originality

The movie is sometimes characterized as “a good old-fashioned cornball PG musical,” which does not contribute to its genre originality (Gleiberman). Still, the plot itself attracted spectators and thus has a certain share of originality.

Scenes

The scenes are both well-played and well-shot. Still, there is some confusion in places where songs enter the plot. Nevertheless, the sequence of scenes is logical and represents the story well. Also, lighting is a significant element of the scenes because it underlines the difference between the show and life.

Visual Presentation

Critics wonder why the movie became so popular with spectators (Goodman). Still, its visual presentation is perfect and contributes to the plot development. There is enough of cooperation and dialogue between the characters. On the whole, despite many critical reviews, the movie is of great entertainment value because spectators appreciated the plot, acting, and the show.

Works Cited

Collin, Robbie. “The Greatest Showman Review: Hugh Jackman’s Sanitised PT Barnum Musical Isn’t Freaky Enough.”The Telegraph. 2017. Web.

Gleiberman, Owen. “Film Review: ‘The Greatest Showman.”Variety. 2017. Web.

Goodman, Stephanie. “What’s So Great about ‘The Greatest Showman’?The New York Times. 2018. Web.

Hann, Michael. “The Greatest Showman was derided by critics. So why has its soundtrack shot straight to No 1?The Guardian. 2018. Web.

Lawson, Richard. “The Greatest Showman Review: A Faux-Inspiring Musical Than Earns an Uneasy Smile.”Vanity Fair. 2017. Web.

Travers, Peter. “Review: ‘The Greatest Showman’ Is ‘a Shrill Blast of Nothing.” Rolling Stone. 2017. Web.

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