Hamilton is one of the best
movies of 2020, and it’s not even a movie movie. It’s a live recording of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s
hit Broadway musical about United States Founding Father and first Treasury
Secretary Alexander Hamilton, as inspired by the biography Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow. Footage is taken from
three performances of Hamilton during its June 2016 run in Richard Rodgers
Theatre in Midtown Manhattan.
Hamilton has constantly been
generating much buzz since its Broadway opening a couple of years ago. It’s now deemed pop culture royalty at this
point. Thus, I had high expectations for
it going in. And as I discovered, it
gives justice to all the hype and then some.
As a musical production, Hamilton
is pristine. It has no weak link, in my
opinion. All areas of its theatre design
and technical theatre are outstanding (its use of the rotating platform for its
musical numbers is a treat by itself). The
songs are catchy and resonating, and the choreography is smooth and
striking. The performances are magnetic
and phenomenal (my favorites are Daveed Diggs, who plays Marquis de
Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson with so much personality, and Frozen’s Jonathan Groff, who is an absolute riot as George III). Humor
and heart are ample but well-balanced. The
storytelling is utterly immersive. It
has a compelling, thematically rich narrative that’s never overshadowed, but
rather, serviced impeccably by the spectacular song-and-dance numbers. Direction is tight. And you get to regularly pick up details of cleverness
popping out during its course – the use of motifs, casting decisions (some
actors play dual roles, which establish character parallels), the word play,
the multi-layered meanings, the smart gags, the creative choices (e.g. presenting
a political debate as a rap battle), etc.
Seriously, I was blown away by how clever Hamilton is.
The terrific cinematography,
camera work, and editing involved in turning Lin-Manuel Miranda’s magnum opus
into a movie also deserve to be praised.
I would have honestly loved to watch it on the big screen. Truly, Hamilton is the gold standard of how
to turn a stage musical into a movie.
Rather than creating a film adaptation, surely, it’s infinitely
preferable to do a high-quality live filming of the theatre performance, for
the essence of the art form as it’s originally intended to be presented is
retained. Moreover, this is the best way
to preserve stage musicals – not only in the archives, but in the general
consciousness of the public as well.
At its core, Hamilton discusses
legacy – the legacy of Hamilton, the legacy of America, and simply legacy per
se. Through characters hell-bent on building
and leaving a legacy – particularly Hamilton and his rival Aaron Burr – the
engrossing story shows how the single-minded pursuit of this goal can bring one
to a self-destructive state in which he’s perpetually anxious of the thought of
failing to live up to the expectations of others and himself, forgets and
neglects the truly important things in life, and becomes vulnerable to
situations where his values are compromised, leading him to commit a grave mistake. Such story arc is done-to-death, really, but Hamilton
is genuinely one of the best to tell it powerfully.
Miranda also once described Hamilton
as “America then, as told by America now.”
Thus, while Hamilton and the other historical figures in the story were
white in real life, they are played by POC actors, as America is more racially
diverse in the present than it was during its inception. This also relates to the musical’s celebration
of immigrants like Hamilton who came to America to find success while
contributing to its success. However, it’s
also worth noting that, by carrying out this vision, the casting process might
have been discriminatory to whites, as what many had accused it back then. For if diversity is the goal, all should have
been represented – whites included. So,
why are only non-whites considered for the main roles? Diversity doesn’t mean “no whites.” Nevertheless, regardless of whether this
criticism is valid or not, there’s no denying that the resulting product – of
which the casted actors contributed significantly to (so maybe the casting is
totally out of meritocracy after all) – is still entertaining, insightful, and exceptional.
Other from what I got from
watching the musical itself, I also had some fun from mentally identifying to
myself what details were based on historical facts and what details were
results of artistic license. I’ve always
loved history, and I used to be on a phase many years ago in which I devoured
as many books as I could get my hands on about American history, particularly
around the periods of the American Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World
War II. Part of my readings was some biographies
of U.S. Presidents and other notable American historical figures – one of which
was Alexander Hamilton. So I had fair
knowledge of his life story prior to watching the musical.
In relation to this, I appreciate
that Hamilton touches a bit the faith aspect – an important aspect – of
Hamilton’s life. He was, after all, a
man whose famous dying words were, “I have a tender reliance on the mercy of
the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a sinner. I
look to Him for mercy; pray for me.”
According to what I remember reading from an article a few years back,
the death of his son and experiencing his wife’s forgiveness for his infidelity
were the two things that led him to Christ.
Now, the musical didn’t explicitly show his faith, but those two
aforementioned events were explored in what would be the most poignant moment
in the musical. And through that scene,
as the song “It’s Quiet Uptown” was sang, a glimpse of the Gospel’s message of
forgiveness and grace was presented, which the lyrics of the song also
indirectly but emphatically declare.
Overall, I love Hamilton. It’s undoubtedly a masterpiece – might even be the best Broadway musical ever made.
Overall, I love Hamilton. It’s undoubtedly a masterpiece – might even be the best Broadway musical ever made.
No comments:
Post a Comment