“Dear Evan Hansen” and the Art of Walking Away
- *Spoilers for the Movie and Play Dear Evan Hansen*
- *Trigger Warning: Suicide*
One of the defining features of the theater is that roles are rented not owned. People pass through them, and as the saying goes…the show goes on.
While fans of The Sopranos couldn’t imagine anyone else besides James Gandolfini as Tony during the series’ HBO run(until his son took up his father’s iconic role in The Many Saints of Newark”) or that a new face of Spiderman takes over the 24-hour news cycle, role turnover in theater is commonplace. Because of the physical and mental demands of doing the same show over and over for months on end in front of a live audience, no one can do it forever. While the show itself stays the same, the people inside of it grow age, and eventually move on with their lives, leaving space for the next star to make a role their own.
And as an audience, we love this. One of the things people enjoy most about live theater is that every time you see a show, even if it's the same one, the experience is different. Nothing is “in the can” or locked in stone. People can improvise, forget their lines, or do something completely different if the occasion arises. Hell, look at Macbeth, the most famous play of all time. Millions of people have played the titular role, and while in some ways it's seen as a right of passage, no one has the arrogance to claim themself as the “definite” Macbeth, the only one worthy of playing the bard’s iconic protagonist.
This brings me to the movie I watched tonight: Dear Evan Hansen. Ben Platt reprises the titular role that earned him a Tony award, countless praise, and made him a household name: the only difference being that the film was made 6 years after the show’s original run. In that time Platt went from being a 22-year old who could pass as a high schooler to pushing thirty and playing a character ten years his junior.
In comparison to the rest of the cast (some of whom are pretty close to his age to be fair: Nik Dodani is 27, Colton Ryan is 26, Kaitlyn Dever is 24), Platt sticks out like a sore thumb. I don’t know if the exact reason is poor makeup, bad CGI, or just the natural aging process, but Platt looks like he’s thirty the entire movie. He looks like Steve Buscemi saying “how do you do my fellow kids?”.
When his Evan kisses Dever’s Zoe Murphy I felt like Stanley Hudson yelling at Ryan in The Office
I’m not the only one who feels this way. Initial reactions to the movie's trailer reflect the view that Platt looks like an undercover cop trying to play a high schooler. The court of public opinion agreed with this as the feature flopped both critically and financially. Many reviewers, even fans of the broadway show and Platt’s performance in it, were left frustrated with the show’s transition to the big screen.
As someone who’s seen the show on Broadway (after Platt initially left the role), I think that the film’s casting and spotlight on Platt are what sinks it. Platt demands attention, both physically and vocally, overshadowing a stellar supporting cast. His presence distracts, his chemistry with everyone else is lackluster, and in duets, he overpowers anyone else singing (In Only US you can barely hear Kaitlyn Dever over Platt’s riffs- it's mixed better on the soundtrack to be fair).
The play “works” (NB: as a narrative, not as a portrayal of mental health/suicide because in that regard it's pretty problematic and aged like milk) because it has the time to explore how its supporting characters, especially the Murphy family grieving the death of Connor. With Evan gradually filling the void Connor left behind in their lives, the audience begins to believe that maybe the world would be a better place if nobody knew about his lie. Reading the letter they think Connor wrote to Evan (but Evan wrote to himself in an assignment from his therapist) seems to give the family closure that they wouldn’t have been able to find on their own (at least in the play version where there are no recordings of Connor found) as well as plays the part of a great son and wonderful friend that is left behind.
Evan’s mother, one of the most important characters in the play, is in the movie for maybe 15 minutes despite being played by Julianne Moore. Without seeing the relationship with the Murphy’s grow while his own with his mother deteriorates, the second half lacks the dramatic punch the play has. We don’t see the economic undertones of what The Murphy’s can provide Evan, economic stability, and the nuclear family dream, things his mother cannot due to being divorced and sole household provider. Without this context, The Murphy’s offering to pay for Evan’s college seems much less like an unintentional slap in the face despite solid acting from Moore. In the show, So Big/So Small is a powerhouse finale show that doesn’t leave a dry eye in the house but in the film, this moment seems so unearned.
In the movie, in an almost ironic fashion given the second act of the play where his character does the same, Platt overstays his welcome in the role. With so much focus on his character, the narrative becomes more about the very bad thing he did rather than the (temporary) good that came out of it. As a result, while an audience can momentarily forget about the harm Evan has caused due to the joy he brings the Murphy family, the film can’t shake that slimy feeling that’s he a sociopathic leech.
Platt’s command of screentime not only takes away from other characters but even changes the ending of the original work significantly. The film allows Evan to be redeemed, through an added song and edits to the final act that allows him to make amends with the Murphy family by tracking down lost footage of Connor signing. While this change improves the story, it's hard to shake the fact that it feels like an edit demanded by Platt. Despite this change it is also frustrating the Evan seemingly doesn’t work on himself- we don’t see him going to the therapist his mother got him or any evidence that he’s trying to improve his mental health or relationship with his mother.
Another major change from the stage play, showing on screen Evan’s suicide attempt which is only implied on stage, would probably be a 13 Reasons Why level controversy if it didn’t look so damn goofy. Platt looks like a 30-year-old boy scout jumping out of a nine-foot tree. There’s no depth or sense of danger, just an awkward thud when he breaks his arm that someone will probably edit a Roblox death sound over at some point.
Having another actor, preferably an unknown or a younger and lesser-known actor play Evan (I saw Andrew Barth Feldman play the role live and he was amazing) would’ve made the film focus on the wider ramifications of the main character's actions. Evan Hansen is the main character, but shouldn’t be the focus. With a supporting cast as stacked as the one assembled for this film, it was such a missed opportunity that they were underutilized.
Finished watching the movies and want to listen to the songs? You might as well just listen to the Broadway soundtrack: since both have Platt the only difference is the film has weaker singing from the rest of the cast. A new actor playing Evan Hansen would’ve allowed made the soundtrack to be a lot fresher and have a lot more replay value.
I’d be remiss not to mention the allegations of nepotism, as Platt’s father is a producer on the film leave a bad taste in the mouth of the public. With this in mind, it's hard not to buy into the narrative that the role was given, not earned by Platt, like a little leaguer being made the starting pitcher by his dad who’s the coach.
I don’t know Ben Platt personally and I don’t mean to rip on him more than he’s already getting from critics and TikTok teens. I’m sure it would be very hard to give up a role that meant so much to him and that he put so much into physically and emotionally on Broadway. Frankly, if I were in his shoes I don’t know if I would do the same. As a person who’s dealt with mental health issues myself, I respect that he was able to turn his struggle into art that has resounded with millions. I feel for him that he’s received so much personal hate based on his appearance. Hell, despite writing so much about it, I don’t even hate the film that much- it just had so much squandered potential.
However, as a fan of the Broadway show and its music(while also acknowledging both’s problematic portrayal of mental health and suicide), I wish a different casting direction was taken. I wish that even if it wasn’t him, someone in the production had the awareness to recognize that he just looks too old for the role and that a new face and voice would bring so much more to the film. Lin Manuel Miranda had the self-awareness to know he was too old to play Usnavi in In The Heights and passed the torch to Anthony Ramos, giving the younger and less established actor a chance to announce himself to Hollywood. Ben Platt could’ve made a cameo in Dear Evan Hansen like Lin did in In The Heights- and he probably would’ve been adored for it. By staying in the title role of Dear Evan Hansen, Ben Platt comes off like the drama club alumni that hang out around rehearsal after they’ve graduated- just close the yearbook.
