Insanely good musical tribute to the life of P.T. Barnum.

Rating: Null/10 (22 April 2018)

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. The music, the choreography, the singing, the story, all in all one of the most enjoyable movies in recent memory. It isn't a documentary, it is a musical inspired by P.T. Barnum's early life and start as great showman.
It is strange that many of us first encountered Hugh Jackman, the actor, as Wolverine. That got him known but in fact he is one of the best modern song-and-dance performers. In fact when he was host of a TV awards program a few years back, in recognition of his "great showmanship" the idea of a "Greatest Showman" movie musical with him playing thre lead role was conceived.
Most of the story here takes place in the mid 1800s as P.T. Barnum (Jackman), a natural showman, first developed his Manhattan museum of oddities, then eventually "The Greatest Show On Earth" with his circus.
Michelle Williams plays his wife Charity Barnum and to my pleasant surprise she is an excellent singer. The only major character that did not do her own singing was Rebecca Ferguson as the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind.
Lots of good performances, too many to mention in a brief review, but for anyone who enjoys a good musical this one is a real winner. I plan to watch it again before I return the DVD.
January 2019: I watched it a second time on BluRay, I came away with an even better impression. Plus the "extras" on how this movie came to be and how the songs were written are among the best I have seen for any movie.