Title: The Greatest Showman
Type: Fiction
Genres: Musical, Romance, Biographical, Drama
Rating: Rated PG for thematic elements including a brawl.
Release Date: December 20, 2017
Running Time: 105 minutes
Directed by: Michael Gracey
Screenplay: Jenny Bicks, and Bill Condon
Music: John Debney, and Joseph Trapanese
Cinematography: Seamus McGarvey
Edited by: Tom Cross, Robert Duffy, Joe Hutshing, Michael McCusker, Jon Poll, and Spencer Susser
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, and Rebecca Ferguson
Source: Purchased tickets from Landmark Cinemas

Orphaned, penniless but ambitious and with a mind crammed with imagination and fresh ideas, the American Phineas Taylor Barnum will always be remembered as the man with the gift to effortlessly blur the line between reality and fiction. Thirsty for innovation and hungry for success, the son of a tailor will manage to open a wax museum but will soon shift focus to the unique and peculiar, introducing extraordinary, never-seen-before live acts on the circus stage. Some will call Barnum’s wide collection of oddities, a freak show; however, when the obsessed for cheers and respectability showman gambles everything on the opera singer Jenny Lind to appeal to a high-brow audience, he will somehow lose sight of the most important aspect of his life: his family. Will Barnum risk it all to be accepted? Written by Nick Riganas

– The Trailer –

– My Review –

I think that this will turn out being a mostly-Flavia-showing-you-the-epic-ness-of-this-movie-through-GIFs kind of review. I had a lot of fun with the last one that I made like this (my review for The Shape of Water), and I think that most readers enjoyed that format as well! I mean, who doesn’t like visuals, right?

I loved the colours, the use of light and dark, and the type of shots used in this film. I think that the director and his team used everything available to them to the best of their ability to really to effectively present the story of The Greatest Showman to viewers. Even if I hadn’t paid attention to the plot, I think that I would have enjoyed just the visuals and music on their own!

The historical costumes were really convincing, and accurate (as far as I can tell with the use of my knowledge about New York in the 1800s). And the costumes worn by the circus performers were really phenomenal, and just a pleasure to look at throughout the film. They were colourful and eye-catching, and just very well-made!

There were many characters that I liked in The Greatest Showman. I liked a lot of them to a point where I wish that this had been made into a TV series, so that I could get to spend more time with some of them. I loved Barnum’s family, his performers, and even his worst ciritic!

I really liked how diverse the circus performers were, and I could tell that the filming crew would have liked to give them all more screen time. Maybe when the DVD comes out, it’ll feature some deleted scenes? Fingers crossed!

I especially liked Zendeya’s character (if you couldn’t tell), and would have liked to learn her background story. That pink wig also looked phenomenal on her! And now I’m kicking myself for not finding the perfect GIF from the moment her and Zac Efron’s characters first see each other. Sigh.

The plot was interesting because Barnum had an interesting life, and because a few things were going on at any one time. I especially enjoyed Barnum’s love story with his wife, and also Zendaya’s character’s love story with Zac Efron’s! If I had to pick one over the other, I would definitely choose the latter, all though both plot lines made me cry from all of the emotions!

Zendaya and Zac Efron’s characters’ plot was very eye-opening for me regarding race and the prejudice against anyone who wasn’t white in those times (and who are we kidding? these days as well). This was also one of the very few biracial couples that I can remember ever seeing on the big screen (if not the only one?) I also thought that it was really cool that they did most of the stunts themselves! And I’m a sucker for starcrossed-lovers-type plots.

And finally, it’s for me to ramble about the music! Since watching this movie exactly one week ago yesterday, I’ve listened to the soundtrack maybe 20-30 times? I am obsessed! For those of you who have already seen the movie, here are some beautiful GIFs that a Tumblr user made for each of the songs! I wish I could have used them in my post, but I think that I used enough GIFs already, haha.

So, just in case my rambling didn’t make it clear. I loved this movie, and have added it to my birthday wishlist since it comes out in March (my birthday month, hehe). And if I don’t receive it as a gift, I will just buy it myself! Because it’s just a must-have for me. I loved every second, and made my boyfriend laugh because I was crying from happiness or sadness throughout most of the film. I highly recommend The Greatest Showman!

IMAGES ARE NOT MADE OR OWNED BY ME! THANK YOU FOR READING MY FILM REVIEW! HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MOVIE, AND IF SO, WHAT DID YOU THINK? OR ARE YOU PLANNING TO WATCH IT? PLANNING NOT TO WATCH IT? WHY? LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!