"Dear Evan Hansen" Brings the Feels with this Worthy Adaptation

 

When it comes to adaptations, none have been more intriguing to me than the jump from Broadway musical to film musical. Many tend to be really good adaptations, like this summer's In The Heights. Others...maybe not so much (yes, I'm looking at you, Cats). That dichotomy is what really gets me. It'll be interesting to see what Steven Spielberg does with West Side Story later this year, but regardless of source material, the concept of the musical is as Hollywood as it gets, and there are a lot of really great broadway musicals that would make really good films. The most recent adaptation to reach the silver screen is opening this weekend. Dear Evan Hansen, which hit the stage at the end of 2016 and has become a massive hit with fans and critics, will now join the ranks of other stage-to-screen adaptations...and the big question is: is it any good?

Evan Hansen, a high school senior with Social Anxiety disorder, embarks on an emotional journey of self-discovery and acceptance following the suicide of a fellow classmate. How that journey commences is a cautionary tale in and of itself, one about the choices we make and how we deal with resulting mistakes. The story is emotionally heavy, one that speaks to many sensitive and powerfully human characteristics that many will connect with personally, and hopefully find inspiring. Evan is a complicated character simply because he's a human being, and human beings make mistakes and deal with those mistakes in different ways. Evan's journey throughout the film is a conflicting one, because on one hand you feel for the guy, while on the other you struggle with the choices that he makes. I'm skirting around major plot points for the sake of spoilers, but just know going in that this movie will require a fair amount of tissues.

My wife and I got to see the stage play a few years back and I remember leaving the theater physically exhausted from the heavy, emotional weight of the story and the powerful musical numbers. Obviously with a film, some changes are sure to occur. Fans of the stage play will recognize those changes, mainly the exclusion of a few songs, and one really intriguing character shift that I didn't see coming involving Alana (Amandla Stenberg), an opportunistic classmate of Evan's. All that being said, I've always felt that no matter the medium, the piece should stand on its own, and this film does just that. Ben Platt reprises his role as Evan, which he debuted on stage when it first came out. He delivers a really moving, powerful, and emotional performance here, as one would expect. The guy can belt a tune like there's no tomorrow, and he kills it with each number throughout the film. The rest of the cast does a great job as well, a cast that seems pretty stacked from top to bottom.

Where I think this movie shines is in its visual storytelling, which you don't get as much when on stage. There are moments throughout where so much is being said, when there's nothing be said at all. Particularly during the number You Will Be Found, the entire time during that song is nothing but pure visual storytelling that gives you insight into what characters are feeling and where the narrative is going; it's a pivotal part in the story and it just works so incredibly well. For me, it was during this number that I managed to really get in the feels. It works; it totally works. The direction, storytelling, pace, tone, everything seems to flow extremely well with this movie, making for a truly powerful viewing experience.

The story of Dear Evan Hansen is heavy, as I mentioned before, but it's also a story about making mistakes and being able to forgive yourself when mistakes are made. This is hard enough to do without any inhibitors. Throw in anxiety, depression, and any other mental illness that many people live with on a daily basis, and that just compounds everything. Evan's story is complicated, and as a viewer, the experience of watching him go through this narrative can be tough, but the message of this movie is so incredibly powerful that it just resonates like crazy. That's the beauty of storytelling. This one's worth viewing...just don't forget your tissues.