Dear Evan Hansen
I have been a fan of Dear Evan Hansen since the stage play was released into our lives. No, I have been a fan since before that. I remember because I used to watch a video of Ben Platt singing “Waving Through a Window” on repeat because I loved that song and the album was not released. I remember seeing it on Broadway with the original cast and sobbing through LITERALLY the whole thing. You can imagine how pumped I was when it was announced that this was being made into a movie and how even more pumped I was when it was announced that Ben Platt would reprise his Tony award winning role in this production. My excitement quickly turned to anxiety as I thought more on the subject, though.
Dear Evan Hansen is a musical where the stage and sets are almost as much characters as the
characters themselves. The way in which screens and lights are used are different from almost every other stage play and is revolutionary and modern which benefits it when it is produced on the stage. The story has to be presented in the best way to have the most meaningful impact. This was the aspect that I was nervous about and didn’t feel that the filmmakers would think about or execute properly. “There needs to be meaning or a reason to tell this story now,” I said to several people before this film was released. “That is what will make it impactful.”
The movie was fine. Am I going to say it was totally revolutionary and memorable? No. It could be that the story was not new to me or it might be the fact that I am getting older and farther away from that time when I was self-conscious, anxious, and hormonal. Nonetheless, something about this didn’t quite land for me. Everything was adequate. The performances. Let's talk about those because that is what I have the most to say about and probably what is most on people’s minds. This cast was stacked! You had Kaitlyn Dever, Julianne Moore, and Amy Adams alongside Ben Platt.
Ben Platt was good. Seeing him on Broadway and seeing him on screen were two very different experiences. When I saw him onstage, I remember feeling like the character of Evan was a “normal guy” just with Social Anxiety. He was just like me! This story could be about me. I don’t know if seeing someone on a screen is different from seeing someone on a stage but I felt less of a connection to the main character which made him less of a sympathetic character. I hate to say it. The aspect of Evans character being sympathetic is so vital to the story and I know that having seen and experienced the stage play so it kind of broke my heart to feel less of a connection to Evan than I should have.
Kaitlyn Dever was really good as Zoe Murphy. I love her! I loved her in Booksmart as well as here. Julianne Moore is excellent as well as Heidi Hansen, Evans' mother. I also love Julianne Moore! She is one of those actresses who can almost do no wrong in my book. She has broken the mold and done comedic as well as drama acting. Season 4 of 30 Rock. I love when actors and actresses have enough talent to switch genres throughout their careers. I was pleasantly surprised with her singing voice too! She has one big song towards the end of the movie and it was good! I didn’t think it was incredible, I wasn’t blown away by it, but it was very good. Amy Adams was somewhat of a letdown for me. I don't love her as an actress, anyway, but she is one of those actresses that always does better than I am expecting. Well, this time I went in thinking that she would surprise me and would do a great job but I was left wanting more from her. I know she is a great singer because of Enchanted, and seeing the great dramatic work she has done in some of other films, I don’t know, I thought she would put more into the role.
Colton Ryan, the actor who played Connor, I did not like for the part. This is completely shallow, and I recognize that, but he does not look like someone who would commit suicide. We saw from his few scenes that he looks good. He obviously cares about his appearance and his body and his
hair and is not the mentally-ill person that the film makes him out to be. I would much prefer someone like Mike Faist as Connor Murphy. He is the Tony-nominated Connor Murphy from the original Broadway cast. He can be seen this December as Riff in Steven Speilbergs remake of West Side Story. So excited! Way too excited for that!
The film seems small. That is one of the director's, Stephen Chbosky’s, specialties. If you watch some of his other popular films, i.e Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wonder, you see that he makes films that are more small and isolating rather than grandiose. That is a technique of film making that can be really beneficial at times so I’m not knocking on the film making, it was just something that I noticed. If I’m being blatant, the film wasn’t big enough for me. I would have loved to have felt a sense of community and togetherness while watching this instead it just left me feeling alone and isolated.
Overall, I liked this film. I didn’t love it. It’s not an artistic masterpiece that will take home any awards, even though it was released at the beginning of awards season. Nor were the
performances anything exquisite. They weren’t bad, at all, but they didn't knock my socks off. It did send a message out to audiences, though, about mental health and acceptance so if that is all this film is remembered for then I would say it was a success.
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