Hamilton the Musical – Film Review

It has been 10 whole days since Hamilton the Musical was released on Disney+ and I can’t count how many times I’ve watched it since then. I have loved Hamilton since way back in 2016, I listened to the soundtrack none stop until I was lucky enough to see it in the West End in 2018 and then again in 2019. My dream was always to see the orignal cast on Broadway but there was never any way for this to happen until now! I have so many thoughts on this so I wanted to share them! Here is my review of Hamilton the Musical!

For those of you that don’t know Hamilton: An American Musical, simply known as Hamilton, is a musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It tells the story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The show itself draws heavily on hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul and your traditional musical tunes. The musical casts non-white actors as the Founding Fathers and other historical figures. As Lin-Manual Miranda describes it is it “America then, as told by America now”.

Of course I went into this musical knowing the story, knowing the songs and knowning what to expect but still it exceeded all my expectations. I cried within the first 56 seconds, simply at King George’s show beginning announcement (who knows why!).

Obviously watching this show at home is a lot different than watching it on Broadway or in the West End. But, the luxury of watching it at home means I can watch it whenever I like and I can rewatch scenes, pause scenes and analyse scenes. This is something I’ve always wanted to do with musicals or shows I’ve seen on stage. As I have had the ability to do this I’ve noticed so much more in the background of scenes or even in the foreground of scenes that I had never noticed in the times I had seen in on the West End.

For example, I never noticed little bits in the background like Laurens and Peggy chatting in the wedding scene. Or, Jefferson handing the conductor the Reynolds Pamphlet. There is so many more things I haven’t even noticed yet I’m sure. But, as someone who loves analysing these things, it is perfect for me.

What can I say other than the acting in this film is beyond incredible as I was expecting. It was so amazing to see the orignal cast and how they portrayed their characters. Seeing Lin a man I admire as Alexander Hamilton brought tears to my eyes. Lin brought this musical into the world and into my life and it has got me through a lot so I will be forever grateful for him. Daveed Diggs and his portrayal of Jefferson and Lafayette is a casting that will be remembered for a lifetime I’m sure. But, as I expected by favourite of favourites is Jonathan Groff as King George III! Jonathan portrays King George hilariously and forever brings me a huge amount of joy when he is on screen.

The choreography of this musical will forever be stunning. There is so much going on across the stage and you can never catch it all in one watch but it is extraordinary! Every time I re-watch this musical I see something new which is such a wonderful thing for a film to do in my opinion.

Now, this is something very set to the film release of Hamilton, but the cinematography and the way that the shots of this recording are editing add so much to the overall story in my opinion. You get to see much via the cinematography, you see all the actors expressions and the whole stage too. I have a lot of love for the way this has been filmed and I’d love for more theatre shows to be filmed like this to be streamed online.

Overall, There is much to say other that I am a huge fan of the Hamilton Orignal Cast Live Recording and I will continue to watch it over and over again. I really hope that this starts a trend of theatre shows being recorded and streamed online. If I had the ability to do this I’m sure I’d be in the theatre a lot more often. If you are yet to watch Hamilton, I cannot recommend it enough, it is well worth the hype and it is beyond incredible!