The film adaptation of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical about Evan Hansen, a high school senior with Social Anxiety disorder, and his journey of self-discovery and acceptance following the suicide of a fellow classmate.
Back in 2015, “Dear Evan Hansen” made its debut on Broadway with a stellar cast and snatched up six Tony awards. Based on the book by Steven Levenson, this amazing story has been made into a musical movie that highlights youth who are dealing with depression and anxiety. When the film opens, Evan Hansen, played by Academy Award winner Ben Platt, is responding to his therapist’s directive by writing a letter to himself and focusing on the positive possibilities that each new day brings. Branded a loner, Evan faces constant bullying at school by Connor Murphy (Colton Ryan), the brother of Zoey Murphy (Kaitlyn Dever), who Evan secretly has the hots for. While Evan’s friend Jared Kleinman (Nik Dodani) tries to coax him into approaching Zoey, he feels like she is way out of his league. After an incident where Zoey apologizes for her brother’s behavior after she witnesses the bullying, there seems to be a way in for Evan, yet every time he sees her he suffers once again from bouts of his anxiety. In addition to the school issues, Evan is being raised by his single mother Heidi Hansen (Julianne Moore) who spends most of her time working so she can pay for Evan’s therapy bills.
The direction of the film changes drastically when Connor commits suicide, and in his possession, his family finds the letter that Connor took from Evan and believes that the two are best friends. Instead of Connor telling the truth about who wrote the letter, he starts an outrageous trail of lies that leads Connor’s family to believe that the two were best friends and they were excited so excited to know that Connor had a friend, that they quickly got caught up with the story being told. Connor’s sister Zoey, who couldn’t fathom her brother having a friend, tries to connect with him through Evan’s stories and as the two spend more time together, Evan finally gets to be with the girl of his dreams and he also connects with another classmate, Alana Beck (Amandla Stenberg) who suffers from anxiety and depression as well. While Alana tries to plan a memorial for Connor, she gets Evan to agree to speak with the group so those who are like them will have someone to look up to. The plan goes well for a while until the facts no longer align and the entire community finds out that Evan made the entire story up.
When Connor’s family starts receiving backlash over social media due to the group’s fundraising efforts for a “rich” family, Evan becomes exposed and must admit that he made everything up. The backlash is severe and when Evan finally finds a way to tell the truth, his relationship with his mother and Connor’s family is able to be repaired.
Music Producer Dan Romer did an excellent job of choosing the right words to encompass the series of emotions that were being expressed with songs that pertained to bullying as well as the impact of social media as it pertains to youth. Director Stephen Chbosky uses the plight of today’s youth to uncover the many issues that, at times, aren’t addressed due to the bias that is spread as a direct result of peer pressure from those youth who aren’t accepted because they aren’t a part of the main crowd. The many facets of “Dear Evan Hansen” set the stage for uncovering the real part of every lie that gets exposed so the truth can find its own path.
In Theaters Friday, September 24th
