I am not the biggest fan of Larson. I think RENT (in any form) is a pretty poor musical, regardless of how you look at it. I find the show's treatment of AIDS especially distasteful. Tick, Tick...Boom is a more vivid and authentic work. So this adaptation starts from a better place than the RENT film a few years back. The music and general plot outline is Larson's most engaging work.
The film does a *really* good job of turning what began life as a monologue into a cinematic story. The formal editing and direction choices-and how the script motivates the various vignettes-makes the film feel alive and the songs makes sense in universe. The intercutting of the story, show and home movies reminded me a little of Chicago (2002) or All That Jazz (from the 70's) in how the songs are woven around the plot. People who generally don't like musicals might find this one's scale and intimacy appealing. But you can lob some of the same criticism at this as you can RENT-the material has a blinkered idea of what selling out is, there's some questionable characterizations. I don't like how a straight guy is again at the center of an AIDS story.
But above all Garfield is *perfect* in this. I saw Larson the entire time. He is frenetic, loud, theatrical, authentic, funny, heartbreaking and authentic. It is his career best performance to date.
