Dear Evan Hansen: Broadway Hit a Bit of a Miss on Film But Still Poignant

By Karen Gordon

Rating: B

The film version of the multiple Tony Award–winning hit Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen is a mixed bag and a wonky adaptation that doesn’t always quite scan. Yet I’d be lying if I didn’t say that despite its flaws, it’s also strangely affecting.

The story centres around high school senior Evan Hansen, played by the vocally gifted Ben Platt, who originated the part on Broadway. Evan is self-aware but also deeply neurotic, depressed, and suffering from heavy-duty social anxiety. As a result, his psychiatrist has instructed him to write letters to himself to express the fears, and to write about what is good about the day. He is the son of single mom nurse Heidi, played by Julianne Moore, who loves and supports him, but Evan’s anxiety is a monster.

Heading back for his last year of high school has Evan stressed out. Isolated, overwhelmed, and so anxious he can’t really connect with anyone, school — at least socially — is miserable. He has a major crush on Zoe Murphy (Kaitlyn Dever) but can’t imagine approaching her.

To make things worse, Zoe’s brother Connor (Colton Ryan) is a volatile bully who harasses Evan. When Zoe apologizes for her brother’s behaviour, Evan skitters away, broken-hearted at his own lack of strength.

HIs relationship with Connor isn’t over. In the library, Evan writes himself another Dear Evan Hansen letter, one filled with yearning but also a sense of defeat, partially based on his feelings for Zoe. He signs it “me,” hits print, and joins the line at the printer to get it.

While Evan is waiting, Connor comes up behind him and tries to apologize. In the course of the conversation, edgy, reactive, off-kilter Connor pulls Evan’s letter from the printer. Seeing his sister’s name, he takes off with the letter, leaving Evan in a panic that Connor will put the letter on social media, exposing him.

PROUDLY SUPPORTS ORIGINAL-CIN

The letter does change Evan’s life, but not in the way he worried it would. Connor commits suicide with the letter in his pocket. Since it’s addressed to “Dear Evan Hansen” and signed “me,” Connor’s parents (Amy Adams and Danny Pino) believe it’s Connor’s suicide note, assuming the two boys must have been close friends. The parents don’t listen to Evan’s protests. Instead, they invite Evan over for dinner, hoping to squeeze from him whatever knowledge he has of their troubled son.

Evan invents a story about his friendship with Connor, which sets off a chain of events that begins to transform his life. Connor’s family, including Zoe, embrace Evan warmly, bringing him into their circle. He finds out that some of his confident-looking schoolmates are suffering from the same anxiety and depression he is, notably school president Alana, played with sensitivity by Amandla Stenberg. But since all of this is based on a lie, we know there will be a reckoning. And so does Evan.

Transporting any story from stage to screen is a gamble. The two are such different mediums, with different storytelling styles. It’s an even bigger gamble with a musical where there are abrupt dramatic turns that trigger characters to break out into song to talk about their feelings. What is a powerful dramatic moment on stage can play in the opposite way on screen.

Dear Evan Hansen poses some bigger challenges. It’s about serious things: teen suicide, depression, anxiety, grief. It’s also about the effect of social media and social status. And there are issues of identity and class. All of this is set to uplifting pop music.

Care has been taken here to try and preserve the values of the play. Steven Levenson, who wrote the book for the play, has done the adaptation. He’s added a few extra scenes and the songwriting team, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, wrote two new songs for the movie (one with Amandla Sternberg) to help develop the story for the screen.

Director Stephen Chbosky has experience in translating Broadway for the movies: he wrote the screenplay for the movie version of the Broadway hit Rent. And he’s been thoughtful about what he’s aiming for here, but not all of his ideas work.

There are some odd plot turns that worked on stage but seem awkward here. For instance, I kept wondering why Evan Hansen would write himself such an openly confessional letter at school and then print it on a public printer where anyone could pick it up and read it. It’s not the only story point that made me pause.

The bigger issue is the casting of Ben Platt, who won a bookshelf of awards for the role. My gosh, he’s talented, and it’s clear he understands Evan emotionally, playing him with depth and compassion. But Evan is 17 and Platt is now 27, and in spite of best efforts, there are points where that age gap shows, quite awkwardly. Chbosky sometimes adds to that, directing some scenes that make Evan seem to move more like a seven-year-old than a high school senior.

And yet, I was moved by it. The cast is very strong. For the most part the music is wonderful. The show’s most famous song, “You Will Be Found,” makes for a powerful and poignant moment, and the film, although wonky at times, is neither too sentimental, nor too dark.

At the end of the day there’s a mix of poignancy and hopefulness here and that’s what sticks.

Dear Evan Hansen. Directed by Stephen Chbosky. Starring Ben Platt, Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, Amandla Stenberg, and Kaitlyn Dever. In theatres September 24.