THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

Review: Tells the story of the showman P.T. Barnum who created and developed his circus in New York in the mid-1800s which became a worldwide sensation.
Director: Michael Gracey
Actors: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Austyn Johnson, Cameron Seely, Keala Settle, Sam Humphrey, Yahya Adbul-Mateen II, Eric Anderson, Ellis Rubin and Skylar Dunn
Year: 2017
Genre: Biography, Drama and Musical
Conclusion: 4/5
I have to say that before watching this I had never even heard of Phineas T Barnum. To think that all of this story is true is incredible. The only story in this I would have liked being developed a bit more is when the whole team go to London to meet the Queen. In real life P. T. Barnum went to London with only Tom Thumb and not the whole cast. In the top movie chart this was obviously number one for some time, it then dropped down and down but in it’s sixth week in came back up into the chart at number one. It is really unusual nowadays for a film to do that. This has surprisingly taken a lot more money than the fabulous La La Land, 2016. I thought Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron were both brilliant and couldn’t have done this film without either of them. Since 2009 this film was a dream project for Hugh Jackman. It is hard to believe that when this finally got green lit Hugh Jackman had to have surgery on his nose to remove skin cancer. I did think there were times where he looked really tired but was very brave to continue with the film considering. He was advised by his doctor not to sing but up until the last song he sang From Now On. Halfway through singing he noticed his nose bleeding. It is believed that Zendaya did all of her own trapeze stunts in the film. When Rebecca Ferguson sang her voice was dubbed by Loren Allred. I loved all the songs and on my way back found myself singing them and not being able to get them out of my head. I really enjoyed seeing all the dancing and also the costumes were amazing. I do hope to see much more work from this director plus it was Hugh Jackman who encouraged and wanted him to direct the film. This in some ways reminded me of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge (2001). At the Golden Globe Awards in 2018 this won for Best Original Song – Motion Picture (For song “This is Me”).