You’d be forgiven for thinking that tick, tick… BOOM! – the directorial debut from Hamilton megastar Lin-Manuel Miranda about the life of Broadway playwright Johnathan Larson and his journey towards creating juggernaut musical Rent! – is autobiographical. If there was one person who more than qualifies to tell this specific story it is Miranda and his debut is an excellent portrayal of the struggles of the creative process and the idiosyncrasies that almost stopped Larson from changing Broadway history. A potentially career-defining performance from Andrew Garfield anchors it all and it is expectedly emotionally devastating when it needs to be, but unmemorable songs and a dragging middle prevent tick, tick… BOOM! from truly soaring.
Before he created the über popular Rent!, Jonathan Larson (Garfield) was a struggling playwright barely able to make ends meet, juggling a job as a waiter at the Moondance diner in New York’s Soho whilst creating his self-proclaimed masterpiece “Superbia” – a futuristic rock opera. With the pressure of an approaching deadline for the musical’s workshop (presenting it to potential producers) mounting, Jonathan finds himself having to give more and more of himself to his art than ever before, a dedication that forces him to push aside long-term girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp) and best friend Michael (Robin de Jesus). But as the world around Jonathan begins to crumble and he reaches rock bottom, he learns that he may not have to separate his dedication to playwriting and personal life to create a truly special piece of art.
Based on the Off-Broadway production of Larson’s semi-autobiographical play of the same name, tick, tick… BOOM! is a story tailor made for Miranda to tell; uniquely suited to his experiences and similar career trajectory, catapulted into superstardom off the back of such a popular production (in Miranda’s case Hamilton). That experience makes for a fascinating insight into the mind of a playwright creative. Jonathan is a complicated character and not always a nice one, shunning the outside world and pushing those close to him away in pursuit of artistic perfection. Sometimes this seems to come from a place of arrogance but mostly it is just Jonathan’s intense desire to share his art with the world and affect people through it. Miranda clearly holds Larson in high regard and is able to effectively convey this obsession without ever alienating the audience; we understand his purpose even if we don’t always agree with the way Jonathan gets there.
Larson may have been a flamboyant, bubbly personality, but Miranda’s depiction of his life is far more subdued than other Miranda-penned productions. This largely comes down to the music itself – all pulled from Larson’s play – which doesn’t necessarily correlate to Miranda’s usual whip-smart wordplay and explosive pacing; in fact a lot of it is just plain unmemorable. Jonathan’s frustrations tend to follow a fairly cyclical nature – a significant event leads to an inability to write a song for his production about it before culminating in a big musical number – and it doesn’t take too many of these performances for them to become repetitive, our sympathy for Jonathan replaced by frustration with his entitled whining. There are a few standout numbers – “30/90” brilliantly visualises Jonathan’s fear of anonymity and “Boho Days” is an endlessly inventive a capella sequence panning throughout Jonathan’s apartment – but for the most part these songs distract from the immediacy of Jonathan’s problems; grinding the entire film to a halt until the plot can kick back in.
The constant throughout it all is Garfield. He is truly excellent as Larson – amongst the very best of his performances – and gives everything to his portrayal of a man so caught up in his own search for greatness and the desire to touch as many lives as possible that he looks past the people he is already affecting. Equally emotionally moving as he is frustratingly stubborn, Garfield never lets Larson’s mask of false confidence slip, at all times possessing an (some may argue) untested amount of belief in his own abilities. Miranda frames the character as inspirational in spite of his flaws and having such a likeable talent as Garfield goes a long way towards building that audience goodwill. Add to the fact that Garfield has a terrific voice and completely crushes every one of his musical performances and you have a surefire bet come Oscar nomination time.
tick, tick… BOOM! is a wonderful debut from Lin-Manuel Miranda held back by forces beyond his control – lacklustre songs that bomb the film’s pacing. The story of Jonathan Larson is ripe for a cinematic feature and Miranda is arguably the perfect choice, demonstrating a reverence for the man that has so clearly inspired his own career path. A sensational performance from Andrew Garfield is the glue that holds everything together, perfectly capturing the genius lurking behind the scatterbrained, conflicted figure threatening to burst from frustration with the inability to create the art he sees so clearly in his mind. It might not be as explosive as the title may suggest, but tick, tick… BOOM! is nevertheless an impressive move into directing from a man who has already conquered the entertainment world in so many different ways.
tick, tick… BOOM! stars Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Robin De Jesus, Vanessa Hudgens, Joshua Henry, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Judith Light & Bradley Whitford – Streaming on Netflix now.