Another widely-beloved Broadway musical was adapted for the big screen. This one being the 2016 Tony Award winning musical Dear Evan Hansen. With such a huge fan following and the success of the show, the film definitely had some high expectations that were followed with mixed reactions. It was directed by Stephen Chbosky who previously directed The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wonder. Both films had garnered quite a bit of success, deeming it possible that Dear Evan Hansen would too. However, the inevitable reaction to the film was not great, devastating longtime fans and viewers.
The narrative of the film has been known to be controversial. It follows Evan Hansen (Ben Platt), a high school senior who suffers from severe social anxiety. To cope with his anxiety, his therapist advised him to write letters to himself and print them out. Connor (Colton Ryan), a fellow bully and outcast, snatches one of the letters that has mention of his sister (which is also Evan’s crush). A few days later, it is revealed that Connor had committed suicide. His parents (Amy Adams and Danny Pito) found the note in his pocket, thus believing that Evan and Connor were friends. Afraid to tell the truth, Evan fakes their friendship, spinning a long tail of lies as he becomes more and more close to Connor’s family (especially his sister).
Months before the release, the film made controversy casting Platt as the lead since he is 28, making him over 10 years older than a normal high schooler. Just because Platt originated the role and won several awards and accolades for his performance, it does not mean that he should have reprised the role on screen. Hardcore fans would rather have someone younger, like Andrew Barth Feldman who is only 19 and has performed as Evan before in the Broadway production.
Watching Platt’s character feels at times unusual and forced. His makeup makes him seem even older than he already is, partially making him look ghostly. His costume choices were exceedingly odd as every shirt had stripes on them. Perhaps there is some hidden meaning or explanation behind the choices of the makeup and costume that the audience isn’t aware of. Not only is his appearance off but so are his mannerisms. His body posture is hunched and his movements were a little “too” awkward. Sadly, his character is unlikable partially due to his actions, creating a lack of empathy for viewers. While Chbosky tries to repair the unlikability, it does not work in the way he wants.
The film tackles so many sensitive topics such as depression, suicide and class issues. When dealing with such topics, filmmakers have to be careful how they execute them on screen. While the overall message of the film is inspiring as it encourages one to believe that they are never alone, it is slightly overtaken by the fact that it’s premised on a lie. One can’t help but to think more about what Evan did than feel inspired by the morals.
While transforming musicals to film, there’s always going to be that wall that fully encapsulates the exact experience as seeing it in musical form. That being said, it's understandable why this film isn’t evoking the same passion and energy as the original Broadway production. There has been a rise in musical adaptations in recent years from Cats (2019) to the soon-to-be-released West Side Story. Musical-to-film adaptations can either be a hit or miss, which in this case would sorely be a miss.
When comparing the new adaptation to the original Broadway production, there are some obvious changes. Some songs had been cut out, including “Good For You,” where Evan’s colleagues sing about how selfish he has been. This would have been an important addition to the film, possibly relieving Evan from some of his wrongdoings. The vocal performance of the songs were pretty astounding however the execution felt monotonous, as though nothing really stood out in those musical numbers. The plot was closely verbatim with the exception of one detail, that being “Ghost Connor.” In the musical, “Ghost Connor” would show up as a hallucination, guiding Evan’s inner thoughts. Leaving it out of the film seems like a devastation to fans.
It’s necessary to point out that the acting performances in the film were adequate. Their performances weren’t horrible but they weren’t exactly award worthy either. With highly accredited actors such as Julianne Moore and Amy Adams in the film, their performances seemed overshadowed and could have been more prominent to improve the overall standing of the film.
The runtime is excruciatingly long, feeling stretched and slow. While the film is quite mediocre, not great nor bad, the exceedingly long runtime makes it harder to watch. There was plenty of opportunity for the film to portray its tough and sensitive issues properly, but it seems the casting of older actors, the exemption of songs and controversial plot seemed to present its downfall.
Rating: 2/5
