Movie Review: Hamilton

Hamilton **** ½ / *****
Directed by: Thomas Kail.
Written by: Lin-Manuel Miranda inspired by the book by Ron Chernow.
Starring: Lin-Manuel Miranda (Alexander Hamilton), Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr), Phillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler), Daveed Diggs (Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson), Jonathan Groff (King George), Christopher Jackson (George Washington), Jasmine Cephas Jones (Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds), Okieriete Onaodowan (Hercules Mulligan / James Madison), Anthony Ramos (John Laurens / Philip Hamilton), Carleigh Bettiol (Ensemble), Ariana DeBose (Ensemble), Hope Easterbrook (Ensemble), Sydney James Harcourt (Philip Schuyler / James Reynolds / Doctor / Ensemble), Sasha Hutchings (Ensemble), Thayne Jasperson (Samuel Seabury / Ensemble), Elizabeth Judd (Ensemble), Jon Rua (Charles Lee / Ensemble), Austin Smith (Ensemble), Seth Stewart (Ensemble), Ephraim Sykes (George Eacker / Ensemble). 
 

Does anything more need to be said or written about Hamilton at this point? The biggest smash hit on Broadway in decades, the 2015 Musical has already become beloved, has a massively selling soundtrack, and had its share of detractors take issue with everything from its depiction of the slave owning founding fathers, to its appropriation of hiphop in the music by Lin-Manuel Miranda – criticisms that I think are fair, although I cannot quite agree with either. I saw Hamilton on Broadway – the original cast was gone by then, but it was still a magical, electric theatre going experience. It was the same weekend Trump was being inaugurated and you could feel the tension in the air. It was an amazing experience.
 
And now comes the filmed version of Hamilton – film in the last few weeks the whole cast was going to be together in June 2016. Directed by Thomas Kail – who also directed the stage show – the film is more than just a filmed version of the stage show (of course it is that) – as the visuals are more dynamic than simply setting up a few cameras and filming it. It does quite reach the innovation that a director like Spike Lee brought to filmed theatrical productions like Passing Strange or Pass Over – but it’s more than good enough. Since by its very nature, theatre is temporary – the film acts as an invaluable document of what this production was like with its amazing original cast.
 
We all know the story by now – about the friendship/rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr that runs through the play. The fact that Miranda uses hiphop (or at least a Broadway version of hiphop) to tell the story, and how all the major characters – save for King George – are played by non-white actors. Perhaps it’s worth pointing out in the wake of the massive success just how daring this really was originally – it seems obvious now that the show was a massive success, but I can only imagine the ridicule Miranda would have received had the show flopped.
 
The movie is probably as good of a representation of the live stage show as is possible to get on home on your TV screen. The musical numbers are all intelligently staged and shot – a mixture of a few different live performances, combined with some close-ups shot without an audience in there. For those of us who know the musical numbers from the soundtrack – but haven’t had a chance to see the original cast perform them – it really does give you a sense of just how good the Tony Award winning performances Leslie Odom Jr. is as Burr, Daveed Diggs as Lafayette and Jefferson, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Angelica are – as well as the talent of Philippa Soo, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson are as well. It actually adds to the charm of Anthony Ramos’ performance to see him quite a bit. As for Miranda himself, no, he isn’t as strong of a singer as many of the others (there is good reason he lost to Odom) – but he knows his strengths and weaknesses, and wrote himself a role he could knock out of the park.
 
The questions and criticisms of the show are legitimate – and will continue. We should be questioning – especially now as it has become a hot button issue – how people who owned slaves AND founded America are portrayed and remembered – and while all historical fiction requires cuts, edits, etc. – it’s always worth debating what an artist chooses to include and highlight, and what they choose not to. That certainly isn’t going to be solved by me.
 
But Hamilton, the film, is a more than worthy document of the biggest success Broadway has seen in who knows how long. Whether you’re already an acolyte, or curious as to why this was the biggest thing on Broadway – one of the only times the Broadway world filtered into the wider world in years – than Hamilton is right there, waiting for you.