https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_(2020_film)
Hamilton is a 2020 American musical film comprising a live recording of the 2015 Broadway musical, which was in turn inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. It was directed and produced by Thomas Kail and produced, written, and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda also stars as first Treasury Secretary and Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, along with the musical's original principal Broadway cast.
Hamilton was originally planned for theatrical release on October 15, 2021. However, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was moved up and released digitally worldwide on Disney+ on July 3, 2020. The film was acclaimed by critics for its visuals, performances and direction.
Stage direction is olympic level. The songs are not 'hits' or juke box rehash. This is a very high level arty effort of modern musical theatre. This would be an opera if it was 1870.
It has momentous political heft, particularly for Americans but obviously less so for anyone else (except maybe the upper crust Royalist Poms). (Last year I heard a joke on Dead Ringers about the Queen of England wanting to know from the American ambassador when they can have the 250 years back rent on Virginia...)
It is a possible criticism that this is just about domestic politics in a minor country of approximately 250 years ago (whatever superpower status that country has evolved into since.) The question arises if the 'Enlightenment' Age revolutionary principles, especially those written about by the soldier/lawyer eponymous subject of this play, have any context or meaning in the wider world or 2.5 centuries on.
Perhaps there is some significance to the idea that The American Revolution is the first such political revolution that stuck and so paved the way for French, Russian, 1848, Simon Bolivar, Emil Zapata etc and became a model for every damn political insurrection up to last week.
Next question is why the Americans fail to recognise any of these principles in Ho Chi Minh, Che Guevara, or the Sandanistas but do see it in Nicholas Maduro, Ferdinand Marcos and Auguste Picochet.
The casting in Hamilton is an indicator of whose side this is on, politically. The performers are all very good. Singing, movement, costuming, performance are all top shelf stuff.
It should be noted that many (most? all?) previous attempts at Revolutionary/American War of Independence movies and stories seem to focus on how glorious, white and WASP-y the secession of the 13 states from the empire was. The casting underlines the fact that this subject is no longer the sole preserved interest of the likes of ex-Fox Network's Bill O'Reilly (and his ilk).
I find that good.
ABM Rating 2.2/3
