A Walt Disney Picture, Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Directed by Thomas Kail.
‘Hamilton’ is arguably the biggest cultural phenomenon of the 21st century, and yet due to its insane popularity and high ticket prices, much of the world is still yet to see it, but that all changes now.
Filmed in 2016, with all the original cast, this innovative recording of the musical comes to Disney Plus and it does not disappoint. Director Tommy Kail uses innovative techniques to capture every aspect of the performance, and the editing and sound design is also excellent.
I won’t go into deep detail on a review of the actual show as so much has already been said about it in the last 5 years, but I will say that it is quite simply one of the best musicals ever made.
The way it explores history, while making it seem relevant to today with the almost entirely non white cast and hip-hop style, is genius and allows for us to be much more engaged in the actual history than if it had just been told traditionally.
Every single member of the ensemble is extraordinary and deserve all the acclaim and opportunity they get, but I wanted to pick at just a couple who particularly leapt off the screen for me.
Leslie Odom Jr delivers a really strong dramatic performance, Daveed Diggs is energy personified and really demands your attention, Renee Elise Goldsberry performs her songs with such incredible depth and charisma, and also Jonathan Groff is the perfect comedic relief and excels in his short camels as King George.
The music is non-stop throughout and the way Miranda manages to tell a story, create iconic musical numbers, pay tribute to past theatre shows, and much more all with his songs is simply spell-binding and I could go into detail on all of them (check out the full cast album on Spotify etc it’s brilliant) but I wanted to mention a few that stuck out to me on first viewing:
Alexander Hamilton (such a strong start), You’ll Be Back (hilarious), Satisfied (one of my favourite ever musical theatre moments), The Room Where It Happens (Passionate), and Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story (perfect emotional ending).
Lin-Manuel Miranda created a masterpiece and deserves all the incredible acclaim he has received, and he surely will be an EGOT in no time.
He didn’t throw away his shot!
Rating = 4.5/5 (If I saw it live in a theatre this would easily be 5/5 but as a film its 4.5).
Howe's World of Film and TV 