tick, tick...Boom! (2021)
tick, tick...Boom!
- 4.5/5 Cameras 🎥🎥🎥🎥.5
- Directed by: Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Starring: Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Vanessa Hudgens, and Robin de Jesus
- Where to find it: Netflix
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| No Copyright Infringement Intended Oscar’s season is once again upon us, meaning it’s time for
studios to release the films they think have the best shot at winning, or at
least being nominated for, one of the prestigious golden trophies up for grabs.
Streaming giant Netflix has offered up one of this year’s stronger contenders
in the form of Lin-Manuel Miranda directed tick, tick…Boom!, a musical drama
that showcases the extraordinary talent that is Andrew Garfield, whilst
simultaneously acting as an ode to theatre lovers everywhere. tick, tick…Boom! follows Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield),
the brilliant mind behind the musical that changed theatre, Rent, who
tragically died on the eve of its’ Off-Broadway debut, as he performs his self-autobiographical show of the same name as this film. The film’s main theme is time and namely the question: What
are we meant to do with the time we have on this planet? This is represented
throughout the film with the sound of a clock ticking, sometimes diegetic,
sometimes not, and regularly interwoven into the soundtrack. From a narrative
perspective, tick, tick…Boom! is a joy to watch, with the story constantly
flipping between Larson (Andrew Garfield) performing his show to an audience
and showing the events he’s signing about as they happen in real-time, giving
the film a refreshing feel that’s different from other musicals. A particular
highlight involves a scene in which a heated argument between Jonathan and his
girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp) is intertwined with a performance by
Jonathan and Karessa (Vanessa Hudgens) of the song ‘Therapy’, which tells the
story of the aforementioned fight in a comedically maniacal fashion, complete
with exaggerated mannerisms and facial expressions. Lin-Manuel Miranda is
perhaps best known for creating the worldwide phenomenon that is Hamilton,
along with other widely successful musical In The Heights, but tick, tick…Boom!
marks his cinematic directorial debut. Any doubts that Miranda’s theatre skills
wouldn’t translate to the big screen are washed away within the film’s opening
number, 30/90, in which audiences are seamlessly introduced to the dual
narrative of tick, tick…Boom! whilst also showing the suffocation the concept
of time brings as Larson reaches the age of 30. The talent in tick, tick, Boom! doesn’t stop with its
director, as the film is full of great performances from its actors too.
Vanessa Hudgens (Karessa), Alexandra Shipp (Susan), and Robin de Jesus
(Michael) all fit into their roles perfectly, but it’s the films’ leading man,
Andrew Garfield, who steals the show. Garfield has been somewhat
underappreciated in the world of cinema I feel, with his most recognisable role
being Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man films, but he’s always been
dripping with talent. In tick, tick…Boom! Garfield gets to unleash his full
array of talent in a captivating performance that encapsulates the tragic mind
of the real-life Jonathan Larson perfectly; a charming and eccentric
personality, with the constant need to find creative inspiration, even if it
jeopardises his relationships. Through his performance in tick, tick…Boom!
Andrew Garfield not only cements himself as one of this generation’s best
actors but also almost certainly guarantees himself an Oscar nomination in the
process. Oh, and he can sing too. It would be wrong of me to review a musical and not mention
its’ backbone, the songs. Thankfully, all of tick, tick…Boom’s musical numbers
are beautiful to listen to, each one serving its purpose and none feeling out
of place. Particular highlights include a showstopping duet by Vanessa Hudgens
(Karessa) and Alexandra Shipp (Susan) ‘Come To Your Senses’, and the films’
closing song ‘Louder Than Words’, but a special mention goes out to the heart
wrenching ‘Why’, a solo performed by Andrew Garfield when he discovers some
tragic news. Much like Rent, tick, tick…Boom! covers some emotionally
heavy subject areas, namely the AIDS epidemic and how it ripped through the
artistic community. The movie doesn’t shy away from showing audiences the real
impact the epidemic had and still has, on so many, with Jonathan (Andrew Garfield)
at one point telling audiences that he’s attended 3 friends’ funerals in the
past year alone. When watching the film it’s easy to get swept away in the
grand musical numbers, and the trials and tribulations of creating a musical,
but peppered in are little reminders that none of that matters if you don’t
have much time left to do everything you wanted to in life. tick, tick…Boom! is a movie about a theatre lover, directed
by a theatre lover, for theatre lovers, and as such should only be held in the
highest regard. For a film that’s been so high on so many people’s list of
anticipated films for so long, it’s a pleasant surprise that it’s even better
than anticipated. |
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