Film Review: Dear Evan Hansen

Dear Evan Hansen, in cinemas now.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

It has been confusing to see the strength of negative feeling this film has generated since it hit the world earlier this year. The stage production of Dear Evan Hansen won countless awards and precipitated a more loyal and passionate online fanbase than any piece of musical theatre in history. Judging from the trailer alone, the film does not appear to make any major left turns: same plot, most of the songs and orchestrations remain intact, and it even features the original Tony-winning performance of Ben Platt in the lead role. Even more curiously, a proportion of the criticism seemed to circle around the ethical dubiousness of the title character’s actions – a problem that has been with the show since its stage debut.

So, what is the big issue? Surely it can’t all be down to the fact that an actor now in his late twenties is playing a high school student? This is a musical: a genre people either love or dismiss on the basis that characters randomly burst into song. Surely some suspension of disbelief is baked into the formula? And older actors have played children since the invention of film. Watching Dear Evan Hansen, I was desperate to see past the casting and either enjoy the film or pull out deeper criticisms than, “ew, he’s not the age he’s meant to be”…

…but my word, that age thing sure is difficult to see past. However you try to intellectualise it, you are still watching a fully grown man walk through a high school and get sweaty in the presence of teenage girls. Evan Hansen is a character who lives with depression and anxieties as part of his (unspecified) place on the neurodiversity spectrum. Any sympathy we have for this protagonist in the face of his at-times shocking behaviour hinges on Platt successfully conveying the extent of the difficulties his character faces. His performance feels respectful and he is fully committed to communicating the desperation of Evan’s situation, but the more real and intense the performance becomes, the more obvious and problematic the age disparity gets.

In making Evan so real, Platt shines that clinical, fluorescent light of reality onto the entire awkwardly cast affair. As the film progresses, the plot darkens, and we cringe and squirm more. The effect is worsened by Stephen Chbosky’s direction, which abandons the magic of musicals for yet more realism. The film almost apologises when a song kicks in, rather than revelling in the fantasy. If anything, this makes the songs – as well as the ethical transgressions – jar even more.

So why is Dear Evan Hansen apparently so much more bearable on stage? The theatre productions (currently playing on Broadway and in the West End) use abstract theatrical spaces and innovative projection and video work to represent the on and offline settings of the play. Throw in the fact that every member of the audience who paid less than a hundred pounds for a ticket will be a good 30 metres away from the stage, and it is easier to suspend disbelief and enjoy Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s catchy score and the actors’ world-class performances. In a gritty teen drama film’s extreme close-up, there is nowhere to look but the not-old-but-definitely-not-teenage Platt and the childish, foolish, harmful decisions this apparently full-grown man is making.

This is still a film with great songs and excellent performances, and for fans of musicals there remains plenty to enjoy. The mothers of Evan Hansen and Connor/Zoe Murphy are given slightly less to do than their stage counterparts, but Julianne Moore and Amy Adams both give superb performances of boundless warmth and depth. Nik Dodani also delivers a pitch-perfect comic turn as Evan’s reluctant family friend Jared. Kaitlyn Dever is nothing short of outstanding as Zoe, and her emotional and charismatic performance steals many a scene. Her ‘Requiem’ might be the highlight of the entire film.

Though the transitions into the musical numbers are often something of a lurch, once they get going you are reminded why the original stage show was such a hit. Platt’s voice in power-pop numbers such as the now-iconic ‘Waving Through a Window’ is still incredible, and there are enough emotionally effective moments to justify your cinema ticket, especially if you are a fan of musicals, and double – especially if you are prepared for the slightly jarring elements.

The end of the film does differ slightly from the stage version, and arguably for the better, though the fact that some changes have been made does raise questions about what is left intact. When first developing what would become Dear Evan Hansen, Pasek and Paul set out to write a comic parody of online activism. Frustratingly, bitter traces of that cynicism are still in evidence. This is a story that deals with major issues of mental health, suicide and neurodiversity and unlike successfully edgy and campy efforts like Heathers, it purports to do so in a serious way. Such topics should be treated with care. This film too often feels irresponsible and indelicate in its approach.

Having said that, this story and these characters have inarguably changed the world of musical theatre and opened up teenage discourse on important topics. There are without doubt people whose lives have been improved by seeing these issues addressed in a piece of popular culture. A film of the original stage production might have been a better choice artistically, but a cinematic feature like this may just reach more people. You can see the producers’ reasoning.

For some its flaws may prove insurmountable. Personally, I made it through to the end a little uncomfortable but impressed by the supporting cast’s brilliant performances and the enjoyable tunes. If you are a fan of musicals and the trailer appeals to you, it may resonate with you even more. Just heed the warnings first.

Ian Bowkett