This is the greatest show. No, quite literally this was one of the most amazing movies I have ever seen in my life. It is a cinematic masterpiece and I am in love with it. If you haven’t seen the movie, this definitely will have some spoilers so view with discretion.
The movie starts off with the song “The Greatest Show” with a circus act by P. T. Barnum and his clan. This is a foreshadowing of the future performances by the group and I think that the performance is amazing but you don’t really feel connected to it until you have seen the hardships he endured to get this show to its full potential.
It cuts to a shot of young P. T. Barnum. He’s a poor boy from a poor family and you can tell that right away. He encounters a young girl and wants to befriend her even though her parents do not approve.
They sneak around with each other and he sings a song entitled “A Million Dreams,” obviously about the dreams he has as a young boy. However his father passes away and he lives on the street, stealing bread from kiosks just to survive.
But after his friend was sent off to finishing school he still makes sure he is able to write to her. It is a beautiful song with such inspiration. It is my third favorite in the entire movie. It’s very soft and sweet and to be honest I cried when I heard it performed in the movie. Near the end of the song, it jumps time and he is now a man, with his fiancé--yes the little girl--dancing on a rooftop. It’s a beautiful transition.
After having two little girls and a less than average life he wants to fulfill his dream and create his unique show. He gets a loan to buy his building and open up his museum of oddities. After a less than enthusiastic turnout, he starts to interview people for his museum.
He finds the smallest man first and then he finds many others including trapeze artists (Zendaya!), a bearded lady, the worlds heaviest man, the worlds tallest man, tattooed individuals and many more. After renaming his museum a circus he starts gaining love from all over.
His show is absolutely loved by the masses. The song, “Come Alive” is performed by the group and it is a song of their show and their come up. I believe it was a song performed in their show. It’s a lively song featuring a lot of beautiful voices, including Zendaya and Keala Settle.
This is directly about the show with the powerful lyric “you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open” referring to the show as a dream come true for Barnum.
Although the show is doing well, Barnum seeks a partner to help him run his show. This is when he meets with Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) to explain his needs for his show. At first, Zac is very skeptical and turns him down a couple times. Then the song “The Other Side” plays.
This song is a duet between Barnum and Carlyle. It explains Barnums need for Carlyle and how he wants to pull him to the other side, or the side of the circus. The song is a bop if I do say so myself. It takes place in a bar where the two are singing and sharing shots of alcohol. It’s a quite intimidating song actually. Eventually, Carlyle agrees and comes to the show with Barnum.
With the show in full force, Barnum wants to bring the show to the next level by making it go worldwide. He does this by getting worldwide known singer Jenny Lind to be an act that he puts his name on. This, however, does gain more and more popularity to the show.
In her act, she sings the song “Never Enough.” It is the slowest song in the movie and very, very beautiful. However, it was not my favorite. Maybe I’m biased because I didn’t like her as a character. Barnum begins to lose sight of what really matters to him, his show and his family and only sees one thing: fame.
At a party celebrating he does not let in his show claiming that they need to rest before a show, but he is embarrassed by them. It’s actually a very sad scene. After this scene, the show members lead by Keala Settle sing the song “This Is Me,” which is my favorite song in the movie.
I can relate to it because it talks about being afraid to be seen and ashamed of the scars you have endured. But then it takes a turn saying that they are warriors and they won’t let anything cut them down. I loved this scene entirely.
Scandalously, Jenny Lind kisses Barnum after he tells her he’s leaving the world tour they are on to go and be with his family and the show again, fearing that he’s losing touch with it. That causes his wife Charity to leave with the girls and go to her parents' house.
As he tries to fix everything that’s happening a blooming romance duet happens. “Rewrite The Stars” sung by Phillip and Anne (Zendaya) is a beautiful song. It is my second favorite in the movie. I like the song because it is about basically being in love without caring about what others say. This being an interracial relationship, it was very frowned upon.
I will not reveal the ending of the movie, however, I can say that it was very well thought out. There are two more songs performed, “Tightrope” and “From Now On.” I liked the first but loved the second!
I think that the music in this movie was absolutely phenomenal. I was completely impressed by the voices and the dancing as well and I loved the passion the actors showed for their acts. This movie is not only a musical masterpiece but it is a cinematic masterpiece.
I love it. I love it. I absolutely love it. Everyone should go and see the amazing movie. I feel like it can really touch everybody.
