Directed By Stephen Chbosky; Screenplay By Steven Levenson; Starring Ben Platt, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amy Adams, Danny Pino, Colton Ryan, Amandla Stenberg, and Nik Dodani.
Based on Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, & Justin Paul’s 2016 Tony-winning stage musical of the same name, this movie follows Evan Hansen (Ben Platt), a high school senior with a severe Social Anxiety disorder. When a letter to himself, one that was not meant to be seen by others, lands into the wrong hands of a fellow classmate (Colton Ryan) who had no prior friendship with Evan at all, he commits suicide as a result. This incident sends Evan on a journey of self-discovery and gives him the chance to finally be accepted by his peers and live the life he never dreamed he could have.
Fun fact: I follow Stephen Chbosky on Twitter. Back in May of 2018, he saw the Broadway production and tweeted “What a truly remarkable show. It’s one for the ages. Congratulations to everyone involved. Wow.” Me being such a fan of his 2012 film adaptation of his novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I replied to him saying “If Dear Evan Hansen ever gets made into a movie, you’d probably be a great choice to direct.” Over three years later, here we are…
I thought Chbosky did a pretty solid job here. He wisely approaches it more as a drama with songs as opposed to a full out musical (which is pretty much how the source material is). Every single number serves the story very well. I also found the way he reimagined a lot of the songs to be more cinematic to be very clever. Though for those that are mostly set in one location, he smartly keeps the focus on the performances of his cast.
Ever since the trailer came out, a lot of people have complained about Ben Platt starring in the film at all despite having just turned 27 at the time of principal photography. Keep in mind that some people look younger than their actual age while others look older. It’s a thing called genetics. I thought he came off fine in that department. Although for his actual performance, Evan Hansen is a very tricky role to pull off as he has to come up with so many convincing lies throughout the story. With all of the experience Platt has had with the character on stage, I thought he nailed it here in the movie.
Everyone else in the cast has their own standout moments. As Evan’s mother, Heidi, Julianne Moore does a surprisingly good job with her song, ‘So Big, So Small’. The singing is pretty decent while she does even better acting it out. I thought Kaitlyn Dever was perfect casting as Zoe Murphy in terms of both the character work and vocals. The scenes set at her house with her mother, played by Amy Adams, and stepfather, played by Danny Pino, to me felt very reminiscent of Ordinary People as that movie also involved a family dealing with the loss of a young member. Nik Dodani provides some good comic relief as Evan’s family friend, Jared.
Overall, I found Dear Evan Hansen to be quite a compelling movie musical with such rich emotional themes. I will admit that I did tear up a couple times. While a number of critics and audiences haven’t been kind to it, I do think this film is much better than what they’ve been giving it credit for. Will it be better appreciated in years to come? That is something I think only time will tell. Though with that being said, I do think this film adaptation is worth checking out.
Rating: 3.5/5
Based on Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, & Justin Paul’s 2016 Tony-winning stage musical of the same name, this movie follows Evan Hansen (Ben Platt), a high school senior with a severe Social Anxiety disorder. When a letter to himself, one that was not meant to be seen by others, lands into the wrong hands of a fellow classmate (Colton Ryan) who had no prior friendship with Evan at all, he commits suicide as a result. This incident sends Evan on a journey of self-discovery and gives him the chance to finally be accepted by his peers and live the life he never dreamed he could have.
Fun fact: I follow Stephen Chbosky on Twitter. Back in May of 2018, he saw the Broadway production and tweeted “What a truly remarkable show. It’s one for the ages. Congratulations to everyone involved. Wow.” Me being such a fan of his 2012 film adaptation of his novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I replied to him saying “If Dear Evan Hansen ever gets made into a movie, you’d probably be a great choice to direct.” Over three years later, here we are…
I thought Chbosky did a pretty solid job here. He wisely approaches it more as a drama with songs as opposed to a full out musical (which is pretty much how the source material is). Every single number serves the story very well. I also found the way he reimagined a lot of the songs to be more cinematic to be very clever. Though for those that are mostly set in one location, he smartly keeps the focus on the performances of his cast.
Ever since the trailer came out, a lot of people have complained about Ben Platt starring in the film at all despite having just turned 27 at the time of principal photography. Keep in mind that some people look younger than their actual age while others look older. It’s a thing called genetics. I thought he came off fine in that department. Although for his actual performance, Evan Hansen is a very tricky role to pull off as he has to come up with so many convincing lies throughout the story. With all of the experience Platt has had with the character on stage, I thought he nailed it here in the movie.
Everyone else in the cast has their own standout moments. As Evan’s mother, Heidi, Julianne Moore does a surprisingly good job with her song, ‘So Big, So Small’. The singing is pretty decent while she does even better acting it out. I thought Kaitlyn Dever was perfect casting as Zoe Murphy in terms of both the character work and vocals. The scenes set at her house with her mother, played by Amy Adams, and stepfather, played by Danny Pino, to me felt very reminiscent of Ordinary People as that movie also involved a family dealing with the loss of a young member. Nik Dodani provides some good comic relief as Evan’s family friend, Jared.
Overall, I found Dear Evan Hansen to be quite a compelling movie musical with such rich emotional themes. I will admit that I did tear up a couple times. While a number of critics and audiences haven’t been kind to it, I do think this film is much better than what they’ve been giving it credit for. Will it be better appreciated in years to come? That is something I think only time will tell. Though with that being said, I do think this film adaptation is worth checking out.
Rating: 3.5/5