Movie Review: The Greatest Showman

Stephnie Ballesteros, Staff Writer

Never has the circus life looked so good as it did in The Greatest Showman. Not only does it demonstrate the rise of this type of show business, but it does so in a way that captivates the viewer. The director of this movie, Michael Gracey is an Australian and this was his first time directing a movie. For being a first timer, this musical sure is kicking off. The domestic grossing is of $137,475,172 while the foreign grossing is of $153,006,607.

The director Michael Gracey, was basically handed the chance to direct this movie by pure chance. He was never well known in his country; however, about seven years ago, a Japanese market believed that because he’s Australian, he personally knew Hugh Jackman. Since he never denied this, he landed an Ice Tea commercial with Jackman. During the commercial shoot, they became friends. At some point, Jackman suggested that they make a movie together. Surprisingly, Jackman followed his propose and sent Gracey the script to this musical.

The stars of this movie are, Hugh Jackman, of course, plays the main role of P.T Barnum, Zac Efron plays the role of Philip, Zendaya plays the role of Anne Wheeler, and Michelle Williams plays the role of Charity Barnum.

Zac Efron makes a comeback in this musical. After many years, Efron returned to musical film and made this return meaningful. Efron decided to take upon Philip character because he wanted to “use their love story to send a message to viewers.”

Overall, this movie musical is definitely worth going out to watch it at a cinema. The intensity and emotions of the characters can really be felt. Michael Gracey did a great job for being a first time director on a mainstream movie.