Latest Love // The Greatest Showman

Latest Love is a series of posts where I talk about a recent obsession. This could be a bookish obsession or otherwise - anything that has been making me happy recently that I feel like sharing. The important thing about this feature is that it isn't a review. This is just a way of me expressing a few reasons why I like something, and maybe find some more people to talk about it with. 😊

This month's latest love is The Greatest Showman. It's a movie with so much heart, and has a soundtrack better than any movie-musical has a right to be. When I first saw the trailer in the cinema before watching The Last Jedi I knew that this would be something I'd adored, and I was correct.

I listened to the soundtrack the evening before I went to see the movie and I fell in love instantly. The songs are both catchy and moving, and I have enjoyed them more with every listen since. Each time I play the soundtrack I have a new favourite song, and I love picking up on clever things that I hadn't before.

The movie itself was flawed, I admit. It's predictable, but for me that was part of it's charm. That, and the cast. It's difficult not to smile when Hugh Jackman smiles, or feel your heart lift when Zac Efron and Zendaya sing together. Rebecca Furguson's performance was powerful, and Keala Settle's was utterly empowering. The singing and acting from the cast was brilliant, and the dance numbers where what gave the movie it's shape. Every movement was deliberate and well delivered, which only enhanced the theme of unity and the circus feeling like a chosen family.

The set design and costumes blew me away, like I knew they would. It was all coordinated and made the movie beautiful to watch. In a way it reminded me of Moulin Rouge, another movie-musical I adore especially for it's aesthetic beauty as well as it's music and story. Only The Greatest Showman felt alive in a totally different way that felt more dreamy than glitzy, and I couldn't help but be captured by it.

Moulin Rouge is my most watched movie, but I suspect it will have to compete with The Greatest Showman once it is released on DVD. It is a movie I can absolutely see myself watching over and over again and one where I will shortly know all the words to without thinking. If you want to experience pure joy, go and watch this delightful movie.

What is your latest love? Are you a fan of musicals? What is your favourite movie, your favourite musical, and your favourite movie-musical?