One night, as he sadly tucks his daughters into bed, one pipes up: “You have too many dead things in your museum, Daddy. In his drive to give his family “the life I promised you,” Barnum opens a low-rent wax museum, with taxidermy on the side, but it flops and he’s broke again. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) and their children: Caroline (Austyn Johnson) as and Helen Barnum (Cameron Seely), in “The Greatest Showman.” (20th Century Fox)Ī few years later, the couple has two little girls. Charity Hallett-Barnum (Michelle Williams) and P.T. “A Million Dreams” is the enchanting song that bridges these early years, sung first by the children, then by grown-up Barnum and Charity (Michelle Williams), as they reunite and marry, ending with their gently laying their hands on her baby bump, the first of many moments in the film that touch the heart. “She’ll be back,” her father sneers, but Charity remains fiercely loyal to her husband and his dreams. They stay in touch through letters as Barnum grows up, tries various jobs, and finally earns enough to marry Charity and support a family. Young Barnum is innocently drawn to a girl named Charity, but her wealthy father sends her away to keep the children apart. The encounter will teach him to empathize with misfits, to see the lonely souls in need of love beneath their disfigurement. A ray of hope appears when a beggar woman with a severely deformed face offers him an apple. We flash back to his childhood as a penniless orphan, hungry and desperate. Suddenly the scene explodes into color, light, song, and dance: his circus at its peak. The film begins in shadows, with Barnum ( Hugh Jackman) murmuring over a heavy beat. Barnum & Bailey Circus billed itself as the greatest show on earth. Barnum (1810–1891), whose Barnum & Bailey Circus, founded in 1871, only folded its tent for good five years ago. It’s based on the life of visionary showman P.T. “The Greatest Showman” (2017) isn’t quite new, but it’s the best movie musical to appear in many years. 20, 2017 (USA)Ī new musical that celebrates marriage, family, and the American Dream.
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