Oscar winner Alexander Payne gives it his best shot with this weekend’s Downsizing, starring Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig as a harried married couple who opt to take advantage of newly developed shrinking technology and start life over in a miniature community. Overcrowding and the global struggle for safe and secure natural resources are very real problems - and ones that could definitely benefit from being explored in a wide release directed by one of the film industry’s more acclaimed writer-directors, working with a terrific cast of talented Hollywood veterans. The scribes are just about evenly split on this one, so if you’re a big Jackman fan or just jonesing for a Hollywood musical, you might get your money’s worth still, all in all, The Greatest Showman looks like a perplexing missed opportunity. Unfortunately, it isn’t very good, at least as far as critics are concerned: reviews describe a movie with an overwhelmingly madcap energy that puts a glossy spin on Barnum’s life, leaving many of the thornier questions surrounding his legacy bumped to the margins between musical numbers.
It took a long time, but Jackman’s faith paid off: along with a starry ensemble that includes Michelle Williams and Zac Efron, Showman ended up securing the services of Oscar-winning songwriting duo Pasek and Paul, and as a showcase for its leading man’s non- Logan abilities, it ended up being thoroughly well-timed. Barnum has persisted during a stint in development hell that would have wilted most other movies - due largely to Hugh Jackman’s persistence in remaining with the film even as it struggled for years to secure studio funding.
First announced nearly a decade ago, this musical biopic about circus entrepreneur P.T. There are passion projects, and then there’s The Greatest Showman.
0 kommentar(er)
