Hamilton (2020)
2020
PG-13
160 Minutes
Presenting the tale of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, this filmed version of the original Broadway smash hit is the story of America then, told by America now.
User Review
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After “In The Heights” for Lin Manuel-Miranda, there was “Hamilton”, a 2015 musical about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton based on the 2004 biography book that used hip-hop to depict the life and legacy of Hamilton in a way people have expressed they haven’t seen on stage before. I normally take those words with a grain of salt....but boy, was I such a fool for passing this one up. Lin Manuel-Miranda struck hot with another gold mine, one of which heavily addresses the parallels of America’s then being told by America’s now.
Thomas Kail captures the stage show's infectious energy to such a marvelous degree but it’s still Miranda's impassioned narrative of one man's story that holds the plot squarely in place; a plot that became the collective narrative of a nation built by immigrants who occasionally need to be reminded where they came from. It’s overtly uplifting but also shrewd about the dark repercussions of patriotism and its own presentational contradictions, constantly inviting the audience to think about the ways in which our modern political problems regarding equality and inclusion have stemmed from the embedded failures of the historical ones; said issues of which are still heavily present with what’s happening in our world right now. And in general, the film is handled very beautifully. Camerawork and editing bring a measure of closeness that allows you to catch the emotion on the performers and every ounce of sweat and tears, all songs benefit greatly from the diversity behind each musical style, the characters are memorable, set design is limited but they utilize the lack of it to set up the imagery for the events fantastically, it captures the look and feel of the Broadway version while still giving it a distinct personality in film and the pacing, editing, overall structure of the two acts and performances in general was all fine tuned to damn near perfection. It’s an emotional retelling of this mans life though diverse music and spoken word while utilizing what’s usually a gimmick in most plays to further speak out on a simple and obvious truth: that our country was founded on a promise we have not kept.
It’s both enlightening but also calls out the hypocrisy on the very beliefs we claim to stand and fight for. On a undisclosed note, I’ve grown attached to the fact that $600 PUA ends July 31st and the people who worked in this play, on and off-stage are gonna be out of a job, in general. So while I do take in this moment to enjoy this masterpiece offering this imperfect nation a fragment of hope for the future, I must also broaden the circumstances involved in this project in the attempt to help bring awareness on and help additional legislation come through before that date comes. For such a wonderful play displaying a wonderful story and put together by such wonderful people, it’s the least that could be done so I guess you could say I am not throwing away my.....SHOT!1 member likes this review.
