The Stars of the Show: Hugh Jackman, Keela Settle, Zac Efron and Zendaya
Last Wednesday, the highly anticipated movie, “The Greatest Showman” hit theatres and it was no surprise that the soundtrack was paired perfectly with the scenes.
I was extremely hyped about this movie after I found out that the lyricist was the same one from that of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s Oscar-Winning Film, “La La Land.” Of course, I had loved the music of “La La Land” done by Justin Hurwitz, and I was just as excited about “The Greatest Showman.”
I won’t get into too much of how the movie actually was, however, it was not as good as I had expected. The cinematography is great, but the actual storyline is a bit disappointing. I’m sure that anyone who grew up watching “Shake It Up” or “High School Musical” will remember the flare and talent of Zendaya and Zac Efron, and there is no doubt a lot of flare and talent in “The Greatest Showman.” My favourite scene was paired with my favourite song fro the soundtrack, “Rewrite the Stars” featuring a powerful duet between Phillip (played by Zac Efron) and Nancy Wheeler (played by Zendaya).
In the soundtrack, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul do a great job of highlighting the idea of the ‘unusual’ and how the cast of the circus fight controversy in order to be accepted. The theme song, “This is Me” is inspirational, flashy and passionate. The lyrics, “I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I’m meant to be” is very relatable and influential, especially to a young audience. The song features a very strong beat highlighted by bass and snare drum with the whole cast singing.
“A Million Dreams”, the second song on the soundtrack, is contrasting to “This is Me.” I fell in love with this song even more after watching the movie. It is the love theme between P.T. Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman) and Charity Barnum (played by Michelle Williams). The song starts out with the couple as children who fall in love. Featuring lavishly riveting strings and a beautifully written riff in piano which is later passed onto guitar, the song is one of the most elegant love songs ever written.
The finale, “From Now On” is a perfect ending to the soundtrack and the film. Featuring Hugh Jackman, it captures his emotional thoughts as he realizes that he was truly meant for the circus and he becomes determined to rebuild it. “But when I stop and see you here, I remember who this was all for” is probably my favourite line from the film. The song starts off with Hugh Jackman singing alone and as the song reaches its climax, the entire cast joins in and it ends again with only a few voices in a capella.
Overall, the soundtrack is a very accurate representation to the idea of the “Greatest Show” with its contagious energy, emotional duets and very well written lyrics that tell the story of the movie so fittingly.
