Cringeworthy

Rating: 2/10 (19 April 2018)

I went to see this film without having read anything about it. It's hard to do, but I like to, when possible, as it gives me no expectations towards it. Not such a good idea this time.
Loosely based on a real story, P. T. Barnum is someone who would describe himself as doing profitable philanthropy (spoiler n.1: this is absolutely not a thing). This shouldn't matter so much, as the movie does not claim to be telling his true story, but it goes on to present a freak show as a the greatest thing that has ever happened to those "freaks". Honestly people, how can you enjoy this?
One of the main actresses, Barnum's wife, feels like she came right out of an old movie. She only wants the love of Barnum (she literally says that!). Has no agency, very little lines or objectives beyond his love; that's how far her character is developed in the movie. The only black actor has maybe one line (kept waiting for it and it came almost at the end of the movie). Oh, and they use (an awful) CGI for general Tom thumbs (just needed to get this one out). I could go on, as I found myself cringing at more scenes than I thought possible, but I guess I'll leave some surprises for when you see the movie...
I know this is supposed to portray an "older time", but this was made in a very distasteful way, only repeating stereotypes and the same old mistakes, being borderline ridiculous. It only makes the movie feel dated and offensive. It was, personally, a very hard movie to sit through.
My surprise comes at the amount of good reviews this movies has received. I'm not here to tell you not to watch it, but it is beyond me to understand how some of the issues in this movie could have been overlooked by so many people.
The 2 stars go for the photography, which reminded me of a cheap version of moulin rouge in a couple of scenes, and because, although all the songs sound the same (and a lot like wrecking ball), they can be enjoyable, I guess.