Dear Evan Hansen (2021)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
Anyone familiar with Dear Evan Hansen is waiting for this moment.
The performances are all strong across the board, with Julianne Moore and Amy Adams providing a nice spark as the mothers of two significant characters.
The film has been praised for properly depicting students with anxiety and anxiety disorders in multiple different settings.
NO
Let’s start with this: The story is just not very good.
On screen, the emotional power that likely worked exceptionally well in a live theatre setting, simply falls flat in two dimensions. The film feels emotionally hollow and empty.
Joyless through and through, absent of any truly uplifting or crowd-rousing moments.
OUR REVIEW
There’s lofty ambition in the story of Dear Evan Hansen, a six-time Tony Award-winning play which makes the leap to the big screen with much anticipation, buzz, and a fair amount of controversy.
Fans of the 2015 Broadway musical remain passionate, loyal supporters who have connected to the emotional, moving story of a family and school community rocked by a high school student’s death by suicide. Initial buzz emanated from Ben Platt’s reprising of his Tony Award-winning leading performance, and composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul working on the film and contributing new songs to the project. People were even excited for Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Wonder) to direct the adaptation.
And then the trailer arrived. Platt, 21-22 years of age when performing on Broadway, now looked much older than he did when the play opened. And while countless examples exist of adults playing teenagers throughout the course of cinematic history, in the era of #FilmTwitter, Platt’s involvement became instantly derided because he reportedly appeared to look too old and the attempts at de-aging him looked terrible.
The Platt controversy, trivial or legitimate though it may be, has certainly clouded over the arrival of a film and story which proves oddly sincere while walking us through a story where a damaging lie is prolonged to appease a family’s grief. In reality, Dear Evan Hansen is a jagged little pill to swallow down, teetering on the edge of exploiting mental health and trauma for a catchy hook, while also trying to spread a message of hope and strength to overcome the adversities young people face each and every day.
There is not a whole lot of nuance within these 137 minutes. Evan Hansen is a teenager suffering from social anxiety who has no real friends or place in his bustling high school. His one quasi-friend, Jared (Nik Dodani) is self-declared as a “family friend,” and he reminds Evan of this frequently.
Through a series of encounters, Evan crosses paths with a fellow classmate, Connor (Colton Ryan), a troubled kid who is bullied and also lacks friends. As part of Evan’s therapy, he writes notes of affirmation to himself. After school one day, in the library, Connor takes Evan’s latest letter off the printer and keeps it.
As several days go by, Connor is not in school and Evan learns that he died by suicide. Later that morning, Connor’s parents (Amy Adams, Danny Pino) give Evan that same letter Connor took from him, only they believe Connor wrote the note to Evan before his death. When given the chance, Evan fails to clean up the misunderstanding which snowballs into a series of false stories, a crowdfunding project created in Connor’s honor, a school community torn between pain and regret, and a grieving family falling prey to all of it.
As power ballads and melodramatic lyrics return time and time again, Dear Evan Hansen has its heart firmly implanted on its sleeve. Chbosky seems more than able to navigate through these murky storytelling waters but at the end of the day, the story is the story. And this story goes down about as smooth as a giant pill with a lack of water.
What may have worked on stage struggles to find emotional depth and resonance on screen. Tony winner Steven Levenson adapts his own book for the big screen and is buoyed by Platt. Clearly a talented performer, he frequently pivots from an anxiety-riddled character to an emotive, powerhouse vocalist, finding a throughline of his character along the way. Chbosky has assembled a stellar cast, including Kaitlyn Dever as Connor’s sister, Zoe, the aforementioned Adams and Pino, and Julianne Moore as Evan’s mother, who works constantly as a nurse trying to support her and her son.
Trauma and tragedy walk hand-in-hand, and there is very little joy to be found within the film. In some ways, this is appropriate. Comedy doesn’t seem to have a place here. However, themes of suicide, pain, and depression arrive frequently and often. The end result makes the film quite a bummer to sit through when the emotional impacts are trapped within two dimensions and not live in a playhouse with a captive audience.
While the performances are largely fine, a new song called “The Anonymous Ones,” gives co-star Amandla Stenberg a chance to shine vocally as a socially awkward classmate trying to raise awareness and money in Connor’s memory.
Despite the film’s attempt at an uplifting conclusion, with so much unmistakable damage done by Evan upon so many trusting and vulnerable people, one struggles to find forgiveness and empathy for his actions. And even with a moving Julianne Moore song near the end of the film, and Pasek and Paul’s distinctive compositions, Dear Evan Hansen never finds much truth within the mythical worlds it creates.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Ben Platt, Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, Kaitlyn Dever, Danny Pino, Amandla Stenberg, Colton Ryan, Nik Dodani.
Director: Stephen Chbosky
Written by: Steven Levenson
Based on the stage play, “Dear Evan Hansen” written by Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Universal Pictures