A sweeping impression of an epic life

Rating: 8/10 (26 December 2017)

The story telling in The Greatest Showman is terse and efficient, yet flashy and impressionistic. Days, months, years of effort are glossed over in a single transition, yet the style is satisfying, because we don't really need to see all the in between stuff, we only need to see the beginning and end, and we can fill in the rest.
The editing dumps us straight into the musical style from the start, in a flash forward, whence we return closer to the beginning, to develop from the childhood characters of our protagonists. And right away there's more singing.
There's really quite a lot of music, singing, and dancing in The Greatest Showman. The music is adequate, it's the kind of pop musical stuff you could write in your sleep. It's not memorable, but some of the rhythms are topnotch, and it's entertaining enough. It doesn't get in the way of the excellent and thoughtful lyrics.
I love the dance choreography though, it's alternately playful and powerful, and it's enhanced with periodical special effects, such as dancers being suspended in mid air until the bass drop.
Hugh Jackman is amazing to watch and listen to, and he brings huge confidence and joy to his performance. At 37, Michelle Williams is still delicate and pretty enough to play a young woman in her twenties, and the two children are charming and personable.
Zendaya is super hot, and the slow motion meeting scene between her and Zac Efron reminds me of a meeting I once had with a young woman.
Gayle Rankin as Queen Victoria didn't seem quite right, the queen was a bit more delicate at that age (you can find a sexy portrait of Queen Victoria online), but maybe they picked Rankin for her laugh.
The rest of the supporting cast were without flaw, and returned performances that sometimes brought a tear to my eye.