User reviews

I have never been so emotionally invested in a movie before. It was amazing from the direction to the music to the acting.

So what if he's older then the character he's playing.... It's called acting. Nobody has more experience with that character then Ben Platt.

I urge everyone to watch this movie with an open mind. Let it draw you in to the performances. You won't regret it.

I was fortunate enough to see Dear Evan Hansen at its premiere at TIFF. While I didn't have any expectations for the film going in, I left impressed.

Ben Platt and Amandla Stenberg's performances were very strong in particular. I felt they were able to demonstrate their character's flaws in a way that made it apparent that these characters aren't meant to be perfect or looked up to. They're meant to be human. They make questionable choices, and they're met with the consequences for their actions. This was refreshing to see.

Being a teenager who experiences anxiety and social anxiety myself, Ben Platt's performance of Evan Hansen hit home for me. I felt that the creative choices made (especially in 'Waving Through A Window') captured what it is like to experience anxiety. I appreciated that they presented anxiety in a way that didn't romanticize or sugarcoat it.

Given that most teens aren't portrayed by teen actors (see 'Love, Simon', 'Riverdale', 'Fear Street', 'Outerbanks', etc) I didn't find their choice to cast adults in teen roles offensive. Everyone was able to hold their own as both actors and singers, so I couldn't ask for more in this regard. They also presented the musical numbers in ways that weren't forced or showy. I especially liked the way they approached 'The Anonymous Ones', 'Waving Through A Window', 'Requiem', and 'So Big/So Small', as they highlighted how each individual has different mental battles. I feel these numbers worked together to provide audiences with a worthy reminder that we aren't alone in our struggles.

In my opinion, choosing Stephen Chbosky to direct the film was the right decision. Through this, they made a film that sticks with its audience: something touching that you'll think about days after watching it. I also appreciated how they ended the film in a way that is actually realistic/true to a real-life experience.

All in all, I would recommend seeing this movie. At the absolute least, it will remind you to value and look out for those around you, and that you're not alone.

I don't understand why all the hate this is a very great movie. The songs are awesome. Ben Platt is absolutely awesome.

As someone with a deep connection to the musical, I was nervous. I didn't care for the novel adaptation at all, so why would I trust that the movie would handle the story well. But I'm so glad I didn't let the premature negatives sway me-I loved it.

It's a story of isolation, of grief, of hope. It's about what we do at our very worst, most desperate, and how we come to terms with having done unforgivable things. As someone with anxiety I feel incredibly seen by this film, how it paints what horrible lies you can resort to in the hopes of avoiding conflict, and the spirals you can fall down in attempts to maintain said lies. As someone who has lost someone, the conflicting displays of grief also hit home. You never react the way you expect yourself to. In all it's a very human narrative, about how we fall apart and pick up the pieces.

It had all the same emotional resonance as the stage version for me. It's no replacement for the live experience, of course, but it definitely holds up in my opinion. Almost all of the changes (even the ones I was skeptical of going into it) felt entirely justified, and even if I wasn't entirely on board with a change, it never detracted from my enjoyment. The music was stellar, and Ben Platt's performance was on par with his Broadway run (which i had the incredible privilege to see in person). Amandla Stenberg's Alana was also a standout, reducing me to tears with her song about how even invisible struggles are still a heavy burden on someone.

All in all, I think it's an important story that deserves to be heard. It's always been a bit of a divisive narrative, refusing to take a black and white stance on the themes it tackles. This doesn't sit right with some people. But personally, I find the muddy grey morality of this story utterly refreshing. Life is messy, human connection is messy, mistakes are messy. I think it's important for people to hear that no matter their misdeeds, they can still recover and come out the other side a better person.

I love how they translate the story from stage to screen. Every feeling I've felt from seeing the Broadway Musical remained the same on this movie, and I loved it. Ben Platt's performance here is very excellent as well as Amy Adams and the rest of the cast. I love every little changes they made from the stage musical and it fits perfectly to the movie. Still a heartfelt story with more tear jerker moments. I recommend everyone who wants to see this to bring bunch of tissues or shoulder to cry on.

I LOVED this movie. I went. Into it not knowing the story. It is an amazing story filled with all kinds of emotions. I think every person who watches this can relate somehow to the emotions of these characters at some point in their life. This film lingers with you days after watching and the songs are just beautiful! A MUST see, best film I have seen in a long time!

Wonderful performances (especially Ben Platt)! Emotional and soulful.

Preface: I am an avid musical lover and have seen Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway. I have also seen stage videos (ie. Hamilton, Come From Away, Miss Saigon, etc) and musical to film adaptations (ie. Hairspray, Rent, In The Heights, etc.).

Review: The movie was almost word for word, scene by scene the same as the musical. There are obviously some minor additions/deletions and slight character development differences, but in my opinion, these differences were enhancements to the overall beauty of the film.

Ben Platt is a treat to watch perform. I love how the movie includes many live vocal takes and even leaves in voice cracks and pitch wobbles to capture an emotional rawness. The supporting cast also held their own and produced beautiful art! Hats off to the casting crew.

A lot of the bad reviews camp out on a few irrelevant points of contention.

1) Ben Platt is too old to play the role. Response: Sure, Ben celebrated his 27th b-day while filming, but his co-star is also 24. One distinguishable characteristic about Ben, is his baby face. He's always looked younger, and when you compare him to the other high school kids, it's definitely within reason that he is the same age. Plus, adult actors playing high schoolers, is not a new phenomenon. Think of Back to the Future, Grease, 90210, etc.

2) Nepotism. Response: I don't buy this argument for a second. Yes Ben's father is one of the producers. But Ben is the original Evan Hansen. You can't say he got the role because of his father. The best person for the role was chosen, and Ben Platt is that person!

3) Evan Hansen is a bad person and the movie glorifies him and his mistakes. Response: I don't agree at all. This movie portrays a boy who felt the full force of his mistakes and has to choose to "step into the sun" to deal with the grief of his mistakes. As an audience member, there is a difference between empathy and agreement. It is perfectly healthy to show empathy for someone and not agree with the choices they've made. Especially when the character takes ownership for their behaviour.

I hope you choose to watch the movie and don't let the bad reviews away your decision!!

I LOVED every second of this movie including Ben playing a teen as a 30 year old. It would not have been the same without him.

Hold your opinion until you have watched it.

Amazing musical turned into a very respectable movie. Ben Platt, while too old for the character, can't be exceeded in portraying Evan. My expectations were high and they were met.

People are far too harsh. The negative reviews are obnoxiously nitpicky.

My review of Dear Evan Hansen:

Outstanding movie! I have seen the stage musical before so I was excited to see this. Ben Platt shines as the role he originated on Broadway. I laughed, I cried, and smiled. Platt's performance reminds us why he won Best Actor at the Tony Awards in 2017. This was a movie we all need and reminds us no one deserves to be forgotten or disappear. Everyone deserves a friend. I give this movie a standing ovation!

I watched a screener of "Dear Evan Hansen" last night. Don't know if you were a fan of the musical (we were) and I was genuinely worried that they'd screw up the film adaptation. Well, they didn't. It was terrific. Beautifully done and extremely moving. Ben Platt was wonderful. However, it seems that the critics and haters had their knives out for this film. They slam Ben Platt for being the son of a high-powered Hollywood producer (Marc Platt who also produced this film) and for being too old for the part (He's not, and fits in perfectly with the rest of the cast) These 'knowledgeable' critics fail to understand that Ben Platt didn't get the job because he was somebody's son. Sure, it might have gotten him in the door to audition but Broadway creators don't just hand out starring roles to projects they've sweated blood over for years to someone's 'son.' There's far too much money and reputation on the line for that. Platt earned the role with his talent and hard work over three years, from the early days of the workshop all the way through his Broadway run.

Their other and equally ridiculous criticism is of the character of Evan who inadvertently falls into a deception that snowballs out of control. They call it 'problematic' and 'inappropriate' in the context of today's uber woke culture. Really, you idiots?! If you only write stories about perfect and virtuous people you may as well erase the whole concept of drama. Many of the critics also slam the composers Pasek and Paul for writing 'catchy' crowd pleasing songs. Never mind that millions of people love the score to that show and have listened to it countless times. Other critics start their review by revealing that their disdain of movie musicals - calling Rob Marshall's brilliant adaptation of "Into the Woods" terrible. So, bottom line you pompous fools, if you hate musicals and the stage play of Dear Evan Hansen so much, why the hell did you even review this film? Your biases disqualified you before you even sat down at your bile-stained keyboards.

For me, this movie shows the awareness, the important of friends. People who don't mind we share our story with. When someone is alone, they will keep on overthinking and friends help solve almost everything. Family also play an important role in this movie, family love is everything for their children. That's how children fight for their future.

I really cant get all the negative reviews !! People left the whole main msg of the movie and focused on Ben's Age !!! I mean seriously !! Thats all what you noticed people !!

This movie gave extremely important mental awareness msg Was very meaningful ! Touches your heart Great acting from cast esp Ben .. Its like he wasnt even acting!

We need more movies like this Enjoyed it a lot.

It's the most relevant musical that boldly shines a light on teenage mental health in a world where a ten word social media remark holds more power then we know!

From the west end to the film versions; the plot, characters and music are all beautifully done. The film misses some parts of the show, but goes deeper in other parts without going off on a tangent.

The film doesn't deserve the rep it gets for using Ben. He is Evan through and through, and the rest of the cast are spot on too.

The new songs for the film are also seamless in fitting in, and are absolutely worthy.

This story and this show and this film, mean the world to me, and I absolutely recommend it to everybody. It's relevant and touching, to remember that there's always someone out there.

I knew going into watching this that it was a musical and I love musicals. Plus before watching it I heard from somewhere that it was a "bad movie", but I had to give it a chance because I love Ben Platt's singing in general. After watching it I must say I love it so much, it's a real tearjerker and I love how it focuses on mental health, the singing and musical numbers were all lovely and each one had me in tears. I am definitely going to watch it again and again.

I'm a huge fan of the Broadway musical and I thought they did a very good job at adapting it to the big screen. Everyone in the theater was crying for like half of the movie.

Yes, Ben is a bit old to play Evan but it really didn't take away from the movie. Everyone in the cast was amazing so I wasn't paying attention to Ben's age at all.

A couple of my favorite songs from the musical got cut from the movie but the songs that replaced them were beautiful! I will definitely be listening to the soundtrack a lot.

People that are hating on the movie clearly did not understand the movie at all. It's a cautionary tale about how small lies can grow and eventually blow up in your face. It's also a story about mental health issues. Evan messed up really bad but I didn't find it hard to have sympathy for him. Especially since he took complete and full responsibility for his actions. He doesn't try to defend himself or make excuses. The song "words fail" is him taking responsibility. I'm guessing the critics that felt absolutely no empathy for Evan have never dealt with depression or anxiety. Because if you do have experience with those disorders than you can 100% empathize with Evan.

This movie does an amazing job of describing what it's like to live with anxiety and depression and other mental health issues. Everyone experiences those disorders differently but they do a great job of putting the most common feelings into words. As someone who lives with depression and anxiety, this movie and musical has helped me a lot. And I highly recommend this movie to anyone else who deals with these mental health issues. This movie makes you feel seen, and heard, and understood. I love this movie and will definitely be rewatching it.

Honestly, don't know how this movie has gotten such low reviews. It was one of the best and well done movies I've seen in a while. The music was gorgeous and Ben Platts acting was so genuine and pure. The emotion he felt when he was singing was beyond anything I've seen in a film musical off Broadway and I appreciated him as both an artist and an actor here. Thanks Dear Evan Hansen for shedding light on mental health in young adults and the vulnerability of both the children and the adults who go through it.

Amazing, loved it so much. It was definitely the right choice for Ben Platt to reprise his role.

I've been a big fan of Ben Platt for a long time. I won't lie. But after hearing the reviews of this movie I told myself I would go in with an unbiassed opinion. I actually really enjoyed it everyone played the role perfectly and the storyline was maybe even better than the one on Broadway as it had a more satisfying ending. I hate when movies change from the book or something it's based off of but I actually really enjoyed this. Anyone who hates on this movie either want ABF to play Evan or hates musicals.

This is one of those movies where I do get where the critical consensus is coming from. The ending for Dear Evan Hansen is and was always going to be hard to swallow. Ben Platt is maybe five years to old physically for the role. But I went in knowing those things and ignored them. What I got for that was a beautiful film in every way. The cast is wonderful and puts their heart into every frame of this emotional story. It's the movie for anyone who has ever felt alone in this world. Ben Platt and crew give stunning performances and Stephen Chbosky was the man to make this one. Go in expecting to have to overlook a few parts of the third act and enjoy every minute of it as a reward.

Great movie, on of the best so far in 2021.

Do not miss Ben!