The Greatest Showman

What makes this musical an extraordinary show

Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself.

– P.T. Barnum

Elements of the show:

The Music

First and foremost, The Greatest Showman is a musical. It tells its story through songs, which were composed by John Debney and Joseph Trapanese. Their work is one of the many aspects that make this movie truly unique. The melodies are really catchy and memorable, which probably results from the songs being very modern and could be ascribed to the genre pop (in a broad sense). They also transport the most important messages of the movie and so carry its story with them. Whenever you hear This is me, you instantly feel good about yourself, because you think about Barnum and his showstars, who may be kinda awkward but are still perfect the way they are.

The Visual Aspects

Whether you like the movie or not; you can’t argue that its images aren’t stunning. Seamus McGarvey’s cinematography in this musical is a true piece of art – no more words to say here. Just look at those amazing shots and try to talk me out of admiring The Greatest Showman’s cinematography.

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What you also notice in the pictures and throughout the whole movie – what of course highly contributes to the awesome images – is the incredible set design, visual and special effects and the costumes and make- up. Also, the lighting is perfect. It’s very warm and atmospheric and creates a certain stage effect, like you’re right there at the circus in really every scene, not only in the ones that are innately set there.
At the end, when the circus burns down and after that, when you see the elephants and lions, the cgi could be a bit better. But that doesn’t really bother anyone as the rest is simply outstanding. Add to all this the spectacular choreographies and you get what I promised in the headline: an extraordinary show!

The Storytelling

This may really be the only critique one could express. Yes, I admit it: the story is quite predictable and at times works with a lot of cliches. However its message is that these cliches and prejudices should be overcome. That whatever you think about people, just keep in mind that you might be wrong. To put it short: don’t judge a book by its cover. Now you might say “well ok, but this is nothing new, especially not in Hollywood movies”. I agree. It most definitely is nothing new. I daresay it is the topic of at least every third Hollywood movie! 😉 
Still… 
The storytelling, no matter what you think about the topic, is very straightforward and doesn’t need a lot of time to develop. You’re instantly in the middle of things. Barnum’s greatest wish, his greatest inner conflict to be, is evident right from the start: he wants to belong, he wants to be recognised. He wants to be successful. This wish then becomes a conflict when he loses himself and his true motives within his fight for ever more appreciation. As musicals tell their most important plotpoints through song parts, the action develops a certain speed and the storytelling forcibly becomes quite straightforward. If you don’t like that, it’s ok. Might be a matter of taste. But I personally wouldn’t see it as critique concerning The Greatest Showman. It’s just how it works best.
I’m saying that it works best that way although I do agree, like I said, that the story is told very flatly. So what makes it work? What makes this way of storytelling so successful? It’s simple: you feel it. I’ve already argued that the visual aspects in this movie are outstanding and give you an extraordinary show. So let me connect this to the storytelling. Everybody has some kind of dream inside of him, right? Just as everybody gets insecure and has self-doubts sometimes. There’s always a part or parts of our body or our psyche that we don’t like, that we’re even ashamed of. And then we watch this movie and we see Hugh Jackman, alias P.T. Barnum. He has this dream, this vision, he even sings about “A million dreams”. He fails and gets up, fails and gets up again. And in the end he reaches everything he has ever wanted. Sooooo cliche. But it works! Then this P.T. Barnum recruits his stars – people just like us who doubt themselves, who think they’re ugly or weird or whatever. People who feel like they don’t belong. Who has never felt that way? Nobody, right. Again they fail and get up, fail and get up again. And in the end they are happy with the way they are, they accept themselves and in return they get accepted. Oh my gooood, so cliche. But hell yes, it works! Because unlike in other films like that, you have more emotional triggers to support these messages. Your cliches are accompanied by gripping music with powerful lyrics, you watch people dance like their lives depended on it, everything is pretty and colourful. You’re watching one hell of a stimulus satiation and it involuntarily carries you away. Although it seems like there’s just too much to take in, the story is really flat in a good way. Because it’s ordinary. Just like all our ordinary wishes and dreams and self-doubts. 

Considering all points mentioned, I’m not surprised that this movie has cast a spell over millions of people around the world. Its elaborate concept of one extraordinary show, the incredible cast, its technically and creatively perfect handicraft and the way its storytelling – no matter what critique you might find there – allows so wonderfully for the audience to empathise with almost every single character, make this movie a musical masterpiece on screen.

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I hope you enjoyed this post and I’m looking forward to your opinions on The Greatest Showman in the comments or via message (and please tell me your favourite song from the movie! 😀 ).

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All pictures used in this post are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox!

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