Dear Evan Hansen Review

gamerant.com:

Adapting musicals on their own is a challenge. Adapting a musical like Dear Evan Hansen, which relies heavily on the performances of its actors and little else, felt insurmountable. And yet here we are.

For as much asDear Evan Hansen is touted as an award-winning musical, there are some issues that become magnified in its film version and are hard to overlook. But those who are fans of the music will likely find that this adaptation serves the material well enough to make it worth a watch. Others who are coming into this completely blind might have different feelings.

The story in Dear Evan Hansen is as contrived as they come. Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) is a high schooler that struggles with social anxiety. He sees a therapist, takes copious medications, and his mother (Julianne Moore) is constantly worrying about whether he has friends at school. At its best, Dear Evan Hansen captures the outsider’s perspective in a way rarely seen in media. Usually, the awkward teen is just one makeover away from popularity but here Dear Evan Hansen attributes those feelings to genuine mental struggles. It’s authentic and the music gets to the soul of what it means to want to fit in.

Dear Evan Hansen’s cast is also at the top of their game, delivering emotional performances while also belting out some truly complex musical numbers. It’s easy to see why Platt won a Tony Award for his performance as Evan and while the rest of the characters are played by familiar faces like Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, and Kaitlyn Dever, they still treat the material with respect. The real standout in the film, though, is Amandla Stenberg who plays Alana Beck, a character who highlights the other side of the coin: a popular student who feels equally overwhelmed