SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
Michael Gracey's directorial debut tells the life story of P. T. Barnum, founder of what we know as circus today.
The Greatest Showman has a number of positives. The cast is attractive, colors are pop, tone and mood are warm, and Seamus McGarvey's cinematography produces painting after painting with each shot! But by far, it's Joe Hutshing's editing that stands out the most! The seamless, rhythmic, catchy and creative transitions flow alike smooth river! Production design is good, but one can't help but feel it's purposelessly gaudy at times.
Although almost all of the songs are honey to the ears, the modernity of it in a period film is jarringly contradictory, ruining the feel every time by dislodging audiences whenever it appears. Even some of the choreographies have the similar issue, despite being well done. Dancing under train smokes, draping fabric sheets, hammer fitting music and scarfs-fixing are unforgettable.
Furthermore, the subplot surrounding Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) and Anne Wheeler (Zendaya) isn't one bit enticing. There isn't anything of careworthy value here. This solely exists because the main material is thin prior to the arrival of Jenny (Rebecca Ferguson). Subtexts of dialogues become the texts sometimes, which render a good portion of scenes and dialogues too literal.
At first, it's unclear what exactly Barnum's (Hugh Jackman) after. His descriptions about what he is seeking for is vague and hazy. That may well have been how it's like doing something no one has done before, for the first time. The society's financial crisis could have been leveraged upon for the need of a new entertainment as such. Even after setting up the museum and bringing in performers with oddity, there lacks amount of struggle. We do understand why it's being called fake without real talents involved, but we rarely ever feel it.
It is Jenny's entrance into the story that sparks up conflicts after conflicts, turmoil after turmoil on a landslide for our protagonist. Barnum loses her, his crew, the museum, bank loans, his wife and business, all at once. We realize he has been chasing an external goal that's on contrast to what he actually needs all this while. His poor upbringing and hardship leads him seeking approval and compliments from the rich community, when in actuality he doesn't need any of it. Not everyone needs to love him, and that is perfectly fine. With an outrageously awesome final show, he makes the unexpected, yet the right move to surrender his position and be with his family, signifying a changed man at the end.