THOROUGHBREDS

Anya Taylor-Joy     Olivia Cooke     Anton Yelchin     Paul Sparks     Francie Swift

     I wouldn’t call the movie “thoroughbred”, but it is entertaining, and a good show for young writer/director Cory Finley.  It will be criticized for being slow, but I thought that pace worked well for contemplating the two teen misfits, Lily (Taylor-Joy) and Amanda (Cooke), and building up the suspense.  Amanda is particularly well drawn as a psychopath-in-the-making, denying she ever has feelings, yet being expert in the perception of others’. 

     Finley is clever in the way he introduces the two main characters, illustrating their upper class upbringing, one presented as prim and proper and the other as a much more interesting character who surprises with every response.  We are given a heavy-handed tour multiple times of Lily’s house, a richly furnished mansion, to show her upper-class status as well as draw us into the allure of a proposition the two girls make to the local drug dealer, Tim (engagingly played by the late Anton Yelchin in his last filmed movie).  This tour and other scenes are enhanced in the talented hands of cinematographer Lyle Vincent (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night).

     In the beginning, Lily is presented as a good student who has been engaged to tutor Amanda, although this is made ambiguous as to whether there are tutoring sessions or just “hanging out.”  The girls are antagonistic to one another, but something in the other also attracts them.  (We find out later how this is not a good thing.)  Lily appears to be prim and inhibited, and Amanda draws her out by surmising her underlying negative feelings, making Lily uncomfortable, yet realizing that Amanda is astute.  Apparently, Amanda is onto something in Lily’s relationship with her stepfather Mark (Sparks). 

     The girls do develop a bond, and engage Tim in a devious plan.  After rather abusive negotiations and a tempting offer, Tim agrees to help them.  Thereafter, nothing much occurs as expected, at least by the girls.  Finley as the writer develops a clever way for all of this to play out, but can be faulted for throwing in a red herring.  Although he does an excellent job in showing how two people can egg one another on, the twist at the end does not ring true/plausible. 

     The acting jobs of Taylor-Joy and especially Cooke are spot-on.  Seldom is an actor asked to be so deadpan for her character as Cooke is, yet she pulls it off with eloquent charm.  Much of the change in Taylor-Joy’s character is shown on the actress’ face and in her eyes.  We see it, but don’t want to believe in what we see.  Paul Sparks is a talented actor, and shows the stepfather to be an a-hole, but he’s more rude than evil.  I think the script should have called for him to more than just rude.  As the film stands, it implies that the girls are “born evil”, instead of responding to their upbringing.

A crime story with a bent different from most.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

Hugh Jackman     Michelle Williams     Zac Efron     Rebecca Ferguson     Paul Sparks     Zendaya

    This is about P.T. Barnum’s early years in the beginnings of his productions.  It shows him as a young underprivileged boy needing to scramble even to feed himself, but with such an optimistic outlook, you know that in the glory days of 19^th Century America, he is likely to succeed.  He’s even able to win the heart of Charity Hallett (Williams), to the horror of her wealthy parents. 

    As an entrepaneur, Barnum (Jackman) starts with purchasing a wax museum of historical figures, but moves on to real people who are distinguished by their unusual appearance (height, weight, etc.) or identity (gender race), then adds live performances, and eventually renames his production a circus.  Barnum is an open-minded, accepting person and is shocked when the circus elicits strong criticism and outright demonstrations from the public, some objecting on the basis of exploitation of the performers, and some because of frank prejudice against them. 

     But with the help of his production manager Phillip Carlyle (Efron), Barnum perseveres, and even engages the legendary Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson), known for having “the voice of a nightingale” for a contracted number of appearances.  The production becomes a huge success, and by this time, he lives with his wife and two daughters in a mansion.  Trouble begins to appear when he makes plans to go on tour, but he doesn’t anticipate the furor in mainstream America against what they would call “freaks”, the downturn in the economy, and disagreements with Lind.  Soon, Barnum is in the deepest trouble he has ever been in.

     This is a musical with lyric tunes and choreographed dancing.  The stars Jackman, Williams, Efron and Ferguson have beautiful voices, and the music is lyrical with catchy tunes by John Debney, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Joseph Trapanese, two of whom (Pasek and Paul) composed the lyrics for La La Land.  Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams are accomplished actors who manage their roles very well, as do Zac Efron and Rebecca Ferguson.

     The production has been criticized for giving a rather white-washed view of Barnum.  I gather from a cursory reading on the internet that he was a very complex person with both an admirable and questionable history.  He was a talented, convincing salesman—as depicted in the film—but sometimes went beyond strict truthfulness.  Business and making money seemed of paramount importance, and he was successful in this; but he was also an author, publisher, and philanthropist, giving large donations to Tufts University, property for a city park, and while mayor of Bridgeport, CT, he helped to improve the water supply and install gas lights in the streets.  In defense of his heavy-handed marketing, he said, “I don’t believe in duping the public, but I believe in first attracting then pleasing them.”  Although he did use black-faced minstrels in his shows—not uncommon for the time—while he was in the Connecticut legislature, he defended the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution and advocated politically against slavery. 

     I think critics should keep in mind that The Greatest Showman is not intended to be a comprehensive look at P. T. Barnum’s life, but to offer an uplifting musical that highlights his positive attitude and showmanship, and his exemplification of the American spirit and ingenuity.

A musical account of the birth of showmanship in the form of P. T. Barnum.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland