With Jonathan Larson’s birthday (Feb. 4) fast approaching and the 29th anniversary of his death (Jan. 25) just passing, I thought this would be a good moment to revisit one of my favorite films about one of my favorite artistic souls. Three main aspects make this film stand out to me as a near-perfect movie musical.
First, Andrew Garfield delivers one of my all-time favorite performances–not just from him, but in general. He never misses a beat and sells every moment with an authenticity I haven’t seen in his other roles. This is such a challenging role because of how beloved Jonathan Larson was and how painful his recent loss still feels for many in the theater community. However, Garfield is pitch-perfect in this role. He truly became Larson, and I will always have so much appreciation for his dedication to do the vocal training and put in the work and research to be able to sing Larson’s music.
The second aspect of this movie that I adore is the overall structure. I love the interchangeability between the live performance of the musical “Tick, Tick… Boom!” in its completion, the storyline following those essential days approaching Larson’s 30th birthday, and the various flashbacks to past moments in his life. The placement of each song in relation to the primary plot makes the story cohesive in a way that few movie musicals are, and the unique way they adapted a relatively simple one-man show into a feature film is astounding to me on every rewatch.
I listen to this album more often than I care to admit, even four years after its release. The vocal performances are spot-on, mainly because Joshua Henry and Robin de Jesus are actors with experience in musical theater. Take notes for the next movie musical, please! This film casts singers, many of which have been on Broadway before. As the directorial debut of Lin Manuel Miranda, the writer, composer and star of “Hamilton,” it’s not surprising that this film felt different than other musical adaptations. It is rare that a musical is adapted with so much heart and apparent love for musical theater as an industry.
“Tick, Tick… Boom!” feels authentic to the real-life theater community, and every side character feels like a real person I could bump into on the street. Alexandra Shipp and de Jesus are both delights; de Jesus, in particular, always makes me sob with nothing more than a single phrase repeated. He makes the “Is this real life?” sequence absolutely heartbreaking, and is one of the main reasons this movie is so good.
Everything about this movie is perfect. From the editing to the direction to the performances, each and every piece comes together to create a simply gorgeous film. It makes me laugh and cry every single time, and it will always be one of those movies I can turn on at any time and just enjoy.
Rating: 5/5
