This sat on my Netflix list quite a while before I actually looked at the description. The title and poster image didn't grab me, but then I saw that it was a musical directed (not composed) by Lin-Manuel Miranda. And at about two hours, short enough for a comfortable night's viewing.
In 1990, 29-year-old Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield) is a bit of a starving artist, waiting at a New York diner but failing to pay his energy bills. He badly wants the sci-fi musical he's writing to be a Broadway hit, but he's stagnating on a key song advised by Stephen Sondheim (Bradley Whitford) in a workshop. As the deadline draws near, Jonathan neglects everything else, including girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp) and gay best friend Michael (Robin de Jesús).
This picture is adapted from a mostly autobiographical play, with narration reportedly from 1992. Knowing that Jonathan would later write Rent makes the otherwise rather ordinary story more interesting. It also makes certain friends' ailments and the cause thereof easy to guess. The early '90s, while not the worst time for the gay community, were not the best either.
I can't help thinking that Jonathan's woes are largely self-authored, which limits my sympathy. He's either an egotist or a fool for thinking he has to find success before age 30. (He would die of a cardiovascular condition at 35, so it's good that he didn't take much longer, but he had no symptoms yet.) At the same time, I remember being keenly aware when I was the same age as or older than famous people were when they got their big break. I also relate to feeling discouraged upon realizing how much work the creative process typically needs in order to make money. Maybe I should try making songs about random things like he does for mental exercise.
You may appreciate the dramatic acting, especially by Oscar-nominated Garfield, but the comedic aspect is barely there. I suspect it's funnier on stage, where it was performed first by Jonathan alone and then by a trio. Cast expansion clearly isn't the only change herein; one scene has Jonathan narrating over his own singing, and the finale mentions what happened after his death.
To me, the songs are the highlight. No wonder Miranda's a fan. Sometimes they're presented in a fanciful fashion that reminds me of Dancer in the Dark, with other characters joining in, indicating an imagination sequence. It even includes a Joel Grey cameo like DitD.
TTB didn't engage me enough for me to love it, but it did raise my interest in seeing Rent sometime. I recommend it to musical aficionados and aspiring auteurs.
No comments:
Post a Comment