It’s showtime for dazzling star Hugh
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ( Cert PG; 105mins)
HUGH Jackman was born to play PT Barnum. He has all the confidence and swagger to make us believe in the self- proclaimed Prince Of Humbug while his Oscar- nominated performance in Les Misérables and his appearances in Broadway musicals have shown he can hold a tune and move with grace, making him the perfect choice for Barnum musical The Greatest Showman. He is extremely engaging in a film overflowing with energy. But the film never quite delivers a knockout punch.
The trouble is The Greatest Showman is an old- fashioned musical wrapped up in modern packaging. It may touch on the class divide, racism and oppression in 19th- century America but the overall impression is of a blustering 1950s Howard Keel musical such as Annie Get Your Gun, delivered with all the flashy frenzy and soaring emotions of an X Factor final.
Director Michael Gracey’s exuberant style sometimes seems to diminish Jackman’s work rather than celebrate it. When it arrives at those big reach- for- the- stars moments, it seems to speed up with edits coming fast and furious, chopping the performances into bitesize pieces when you want it to calm down and let you savour it.
The Greatest Showman is certainly brisk and breezy as it rushes through broad brushstroke storytelling. We see how Barnum’s impoverished childhood left him determined to leave his mark on the world and he vows to give his beloved Charity ( Michelle Williams) a life as grand as the one she leaves behind to marry him.
When he is made redundant from the drudgery of his daily employment, Barnum builds upon his affinity with outsiders and misfits by starting his Museum Of Curiosities. He is soon the ringmaster for entertainment that provides a home to a bearded lady, a tiny man, Dog Boy, The Illustrated Man and many others.
However, Barnum’s striving for respectability and his infatuation with Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind ( Rebecca Ferguson) bring him crashing down to earth and teach him what is truly important in life.
The story really is as simple as that since it is the showstopper musical numbers that count here and La La Land composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul have risen to the occasion. There are some instantly hummable tunes, from Come Alive to Rewrite The Stars. The big hit number is This Is Me and it will raise the roof.
The Greatest Showman has a fantastic cast that includes Keala Settle as bearded lady Lettie, Broadway star Zendaya as trapeze artist Anne and Zac Efron as Barnum’s high society business partner Phillip Carlyle.
It is a little clunky and cheesy but when it works, it really does bring a song to your heart and a tear to your eye. That’s a fine achievement for a Christmas release which all the family can enjoy. ( Opens nationwide on December 26.)
MOLLY’S GAME ( Cert 15; 140mins)
MOLLY Bloom ran the most exclusive, high- stakes, illicit poker
games in Hollywood and New York. She welcomed movie stars, businessmen, stockbrokers and sportsmen to her table. She conducted herself with strict professionalism, never mixing business with pleasure, guarded all her clients’ secrets and made millions for herself along the way. It all came to a sticky end when the FBI arrested her in a dawn raid in 2013.
Jessica Chastain plays Molly in a film that takes you on a whirlwind tour of these events, haring between past and present and propelled forward by screeds of dense voiceover narration rattled off with machine gun speed. It is a dynamic, quicksilver insight into a life that feels stranger than fiction.
Driven by her tough father Larry ( Kevin Costner), Molly was a world- class skier before a freak injury ended her hopes of Olympic glory. She was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar when one job led to another and she began helping her sleazy boss at his weekly poker game.
Molly’s story comes spilling out for lawyer Charlie Jaffey ( Idris Elba) when he reluctantly agrees to defend her. It is a tale of enterprise and integrity with Molly in conflict with mean- spirited men trying to thwart her and assert their power.
A great piece of barnstorming storytelling from West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin. ( Opens nationwide on January 1.)
PITCH PERFECT 3 ( Cert 12A; 93mins)
EVEN die- hard fans of the Bellas might feel they have reached their sell- by date in Pitch Perfect 3 as the return of the rowdy a cappella girl gang proves that you can have too much of a good thing. There is a certain pleasure in one more reunion for Beca ( Anna Kendrick), Amy ( Rebel Wilson) and the gals but the latest instalment is sillier than ever.
The original team have all graduated and ventured into a world that isn’t as much fun as they thought. Naturally, none of them can resist a call to revive the Bellas and they embark on a tour to entertain American troops stationed in picture- postcard locations in Europe. There are hints of romance, moral dilemmas and a laboured subplot involving John Lithgrow hamming it up as Amy’s Australian dad.
The big musical numbers are still the highlight but even they have lost a little of their sparkle. It feels as if this party is over and it is time to call it a day.
SANCTUARY ( Cert 15; 86mins)
BASED on a play and starring members of the Blue Teapot Theatre Company, Sanctuary is a campaigning film that is also sweet, smart and funny.
Until a recent change in the law, people with an intellectual disability were banned from having sex in Ireland unless they were married.
In Galway, Larry ( Kieran Coppinger), a young man with Down’s syndrome, is desperate to spend some private time with Sophie ( Charlene Kelly), a young woman with severe epilepsy, so care worker Tom ( Robert Doherty) has booked them a hotel room for an afternoon.
During a trip to the cinema, Tom’s charges settle down to watch the film while Larry and Sophie sneak off to the hotel. Their tryst doesn’t go according to plan in a film that is brimming with charm but also has an endearing sense of humour. The disabled characters are all played by disabled actors which may be why the film feels so true to life. ( Selected release from December 29.)