Film Review: The Greatest Showman

Published on: 17 Jan, 2018
Updated on: 17 Jan, 2018

By Dennis Harvey-Hepherd

This is a musical biopic about the life of legendary showman P T Barnum.

It is a delightful example of a modern musical, with toe tapping melodies and memorable lyrics. I must owe an apology to those sitting near me as my feet started tapping and head bobbing along to the music, within seconds of the start. It is very infectious and in many respects excellent.

The story rattles along, compressing years into the space of a song, taking our hero from down and out to successful family man by very clever visual clues.

Hugh Jackman appears to be born for this role. He leads a remarkable cast through triumph and disaster to hope and fortune.

Its only flaw is that the story is told through very rose tinted story. Totally ignored are the darker aspects of Barnum and the world he inhabited.

But that is not surprising; the film is designed as a mass-market audience pleaser, which it is, most triumphantly.

This film is worth at least 4 stars out of five, only falling short of five due to the lack of salt to balance the sugar.