The time of a film - The Crime

The biographical drama Tick, Tick… Boom! chronicles the life of Jonathan Larson, a songwriter of musicals. Larson is best known for his Broadway hit, Rent, which won him several posthumous awards. The playwright died suddenly of an aortic aneurysm at the age of 35, the day before the first performance of Rent. The plot of Tick, Tick… Boom! takes place in New York, in the midst of the HIV epidemic, as the protagonist desperately tries to break into Broadway. He feels pressured by the fact that he will soon be celebrating his 30th birthday without having experienced any notable success yet. This musical film, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, takes its name from a musical by Larson completed in 1991, a few years before his death.

Fact or fiction

Throughout the film, the narration is carried out by Jonathan, played by Andrew Garfield, who recounts the highlights of his life, the good and the bad, that led him to the person he has become. The feature film uses the same narrative as the play that inspired it. This approach reduces the distance between reality and fiction, because it gives the impression of attending Jonathan Larson's show as presented in the early 90s. Even if this show is a priori an autobiographical work, it remains even a certain amount of fiction, and the feature film retains this same relationship between what Larson actually experienced and what he invented. It's easy to let yourself be carried away by the narration of the film, which creates a fluidity in the sequence of events: the transition is made naturally between the moments when Jonathan presents his show on stage and those when he goes through the events in question. in his room.

The songs performed by the actors come directly from Larson's original work, but this time they are accompanied by dance and camerawork to be presented on the screen. The catchy melodies composed by the playwright set the tone of the film. Each seems to fit seamlessly into the feature film and mesh with the emotions felt by the protagonist – some are upbeat and lighthearted, while others are deeper and sad.

In addition, it is necessary to salute the work of Andrew Garfield, who aptly embodies Jonathan Larson. This performance also earned him the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.

Before the explosion

For the protagonist, the approach of thirty causes growing anxiety, because it is a point of no return: if he still hasn't accomplished anything at 30, maybe doesn't he have what it takes to break into Broadway. He harbors great hopes for his future, but nothing really progresses, to the point where he wonders if his life is not limited to the modest conditions in which he has lived for several years. The regular tick tick of the clock resonates at several key moments in the film, like a countdown, creating a sense of urgency. Jonathan would like to stop time, but this is an impossible wish. While, in turn, members of his entourage are infected with HIV, Jonathan is more than ever aware of the time he is wasting living in his dreams of grandeur. The protagonist, as if frozen in time, has spent many years of his life working on the same play, when everything seems to be moving too fast around him. The film can be interpreted as an invitation to question the importance of knowing how to take full advantage of the passing time, before the final boom.

Tick, Tick… Boom! is a fine tribute to Jonathan Larson, whose work marked a generation despite his short career. The film is currently available on Netflix.