Go in accepting that it will not meet the hype and this isn't half bad.

Rating: 6/10 (5 November 2019)

I feel instinctively hostile to this movie. I think there's something rather smug about its attempt to be an homage to the vintage musicals. Now I love the vintage musicals and the idea of reviving them, I really do, but when it's done like this, what I am inclined to call "oscar bait", I become very closed to it emotionally.
Certainly it's all very professional. It even has the impressive feat of feeling at once cinematic and capturing that distinct sensation of viewing something live. The musical and dance numbers are radiantly envisioned and realized and I'm sure could be enjoyed again and again, even if the music is mostly just adequate.
The story did not grab me at first. There's something about the the idea of a musical about show biz that I find just redundant; it's a hat on a hat. It's already a MUSICAL so why did you base the plot on this? I know it's a throw back but the plot just feels like a template to jam in those impressive numbers.
I didn't feel vivid characters. I felt the same old meek female, jaded guy pairing we've seen a hundred times before without variation.
I liked the girls walking down the street to the party in their dresses (red, blue , green, yellow respectively; it really works) and I also felt the audition montage was impeccably pulled off. I found the lecture on improvized music more annoying than anything. It's like a joke: if you have to explain why it's so clever it's not funny. Similar principle for music.
I did however warm to the move and its characters about two thirds in when we start to see the more brutal reality behind the romantic front we want to see. The ending may well have you in tears, it's quite something.