Andrew Garfield had been making multiple public appearances and the people were behind him to find out about only one thing – Spiderman: No Way Home. I don’t blame the people; I would have been the same.
… but fast forward and here we see him in this musical right after that.
Even though it is definitely not how it has happened, watching it made me feel like he ran away from those public appearances and gave this magical performance to make everyone see the world beyond Spiderman (I said beyond, not without!)
We all have the fear of missing out or unable to achieve what we desired as we race against the clock that won’t stop ticking. Jonathan Larson (played in a blindeningly charming way by Andrew Garfield) is no different. Dreamed of achieving the glory in musical theatre, he has been working on an original rock show for 8 years now and the future still isn’t certain.
In this semi-autobiographical film, Andrew Garfield takes hold of your attention right from the first frame with his engaging commentary and his beautiful singing voice. You feel the positive energy surge into you and within no time you are inside the world of Jonathan Larson.
After the atmosphere fills with joy and excitement, we are introduced to the life of Jonathan which is nothing more than an imperfect one. Jonathan’s age and his long desire for success is keeping him on his toes and his dysfunctional relationship with his girlfriend at the backdrop of HIV-AIDS epidemic aren’t helping him in any way.
Jonathan makes up songs instantaneously and as he describes in one scene, he likes to be able to “write about anything”. No matter what he is doing – be it waiting tables, partying with friends, spending time with his girlfriend – his charm and energy becomes the highlight. He is especially magically when he is on the stage which is just as often as we like it to.
I don’t particularly enjoy the musicals but this one is a clear exception. The songs are nothing but the narration about his life events and the social issues and each of it leaves you with an impression.
The film is perfectly paced as the day of his show is fast approaching while he is trying to write the final song as the lives of his girlfriend and his best friend runs diagonally to his own.
How the story is getting narrated is a sweet surprise in itself and the later you find out about it is the better, so will not touch on it.
As soon as I finished watching, I went straight to find the actual show performed by Jonathan Larson as I couldn’t get enough of him.
At the end, I was left wondering about the few lines he sings in the movie:
This is the life, Bo-Bo Bo-Bo
This is the life, Bo-Bo Bo-Bo
This is the life, Bo-Bo Bo-Bo
Bohemia…
The film is available on Netflix.
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