Football season is over and so is my vacation. While I was away, the Academy announced its nominees and, as usual, I think they missed a lot. However, I decided to sit down with a film that got nominated and was already on my watchlist before the vacation. tick, tick…BOOM! is a great showcase for Andrew Garfield’s immense talents and a well-executed directorial debut for Lin-Manuel Miranda which should have been afforded some of the attention and adoration that was given to West Side Story.
Before the overwhelming success of his show, Rent, on Broadway and around the world, Jonathan Larson was on the verge of calling it quits before he turned 30. Struggling to keep the lights on and battling the self-inflicted measures of success while working on his first professional musical for eight years, his personal life and artistic aspirations were on a collision course.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature film directorial debut is an adaptation of Larson’s musical of the same name, with the screenplay written by Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen). When I first caught wind of this project, I thought it was about the creation of Rent itself but that’s not the case. However, if you are familiar with the show then you can see the context clues Miranda cleverly inserted in the film and he stayed true to many of the themes present in Larson’s work such as homophobia, the AIDS epidemic, and multiculturalism. It’s pretty clear that Mirandan and Levenson are well-versed in Larson’s works and wanted to treat it (and him) with reverence. Plus, their own experiences with musical theater went a long way in crafting the presentation of Larson’s work.
It’s not a straight-line adaptation of the musical though. Instead, it blends the workshop musical session with the real-life biographical story that led Larson to that point. That approach provides a great deal of context and insight into who the man behind the music was without drowning the audience in lazy exposition. That blend is as mich visual as it is textual and you can see why the film was nominated for editing as the two narrative arcs were woven together with such thoughtfulness. This was an impressive directorial debut that thrived with a minimalist approach.
At the center of this film’s substantial and harmonious beating heart is the wonderful Andrew Garfield. He’s probably one of the more underrated actors of his generation, but he had 2021 loaded with top-notch performances and he’s right there in the conversation for my Performer of the Year award. As Jonathan Larson, he embodies so much nervous energy and passion that’s it’s practically leaping out of him on screen. Garfield’s emotional fluidity has long been one of his strengths and it comes roaring to the surface in his powerful singing voice. I can see why he got the Oscar nod for this performance and I am thrilled to see the swell of support for him after his reprisal in the latest Spider-Man film.
Alexandra Shipp and Vanessa Hudgens both had substantial supporting roles with Hudgens lending her powerful and well-trained vocals to several of the musical numbers that populate the soundtrack. While Shipp plays the love interest at the center of Larson’s world, Susan, the role that stood out to me belongs to Robin de Jesús as Larson’s roommate, Michael. As a former collaborator and long-time friend, his connection with Larson has substantial non-romantic tissue that challenges their friendship. Due to the nature of the story, you feel for his character in a way that you don’t feel for the others and de Jesús did a fantastic job with it.
I always have a soft spot for minimalism and this film really leans into that. It is part of the story’s DNA as Larson is in the process of workshopping his musical and dealing with finding the budget for additional musicians to fulfill his vision. It feels authentic in its approach to representing that side of the business but it still managed to get more than enough out of its delivery and the performers.
If you are unfamiliar with the life and works of Jonathan Larson, this film is a good place to start and I won’t spoil anything for you. Even if you do know, the material is presented in a way that pays respect to the source material while working to carve out its own identity as a biopic.
Recommendation: See it for Garfield’s performance and the creative visual storytelling approach of Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Thanks for reading! I still believe word of mouth is the best way to help, so if you enjoy what I’m doing, please tell somebody. And if you have a comment, I’d love to hear it! Liking, subscribing, and sharing go a long way too. As usual, be well, be safe, and have fun no matter how you get your movies!