Review of “Hamilton”

Review of “Hamilton”

By Odie Henderson

Just in time for the Fourth of July, Disney+ is doing a solid for anyone who couldn’t get a ticket to the Broadway sensation(senˈsāSH(ə)n) known as “Hamilton.” All 160 minutes of it, including a very brief intermission(ˌin(t)ərˈmiSHən) and some minor censoring of language, will be streaming on the service starting July 3rd. Shot over two nights in 2016 with most of the original cast, including all its Tony winners, this is more than just a filmed performance. Great care has gone into making this as cinematic(ˌsinəˈmadik) as possible. The camerawork(ˈkam(ə)rəˌwərk), editing and direction also bring the one thing you couldn’t get at the Richard Rogers Theatre(theater): a closeness that allows you to see the emotions (and the sweat) on the performers’ faces. Director Thomas Kail (who also helmed(helm) the stage production) uses his close-ups judiciously(jo͞oˈdiSHəslē), but manages to keep this level of intimacy(ˈin(t)əməsē) even when we’re able to see the entire stage and all its performers.

With its PG-13 rating(ˈrādiNG), this is the most adult movie to appear behind the Walt Disney castle(ˈkasəl) logo. It’s certainly raunchy(ˈrôn(t)SHē) in ways Uncle Walt wouldn’t have approved, most notably(ˈnōdəblē) in depicting(dəˈpikt) the adulterous(əˈdəlt(ə)rəs) events that led(led) to the Reynolds(ˈrenəldz) pamphlet(ˈpamflət), a Sidney Sheldon-worthy(ˈwərT͟Hē) tell-all published by its protagonist(prōˈtaɡənəst), Alexander(ˌaləɡˈzandər) Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda(məˈrandə)). “Well, he never gonna be President now,” sings Thomas Jefferson(ˈjefərsən) (Tony winner Daveed(ə) Diggs), a conceit(kənˈsēt) that seems particularly quaint(kwānt) and hilarious(həˈlerēəs) when you consider who was elected(əˈlekt) to that office the year “Hamilton” won 11 Tonys and the Pulitzer(ˈpo͝olətsər, ˈpyo͞olətsər ) Prize.

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https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamilton-movie-review-2020