★★★★

The Greatest Showman is a musical biopic about Phineaus T Barnum’s (Hugh Jackman) life and the creation of his great circus, the first spectacle of its kind.

We start by seeing a young Phineas (Ellis Rubin) working for his father a tailor, he meets the daughter of a wealthy client, Charity (Skylar Dunn). He makes her laugh and distracts her from her tuition of how to be a lady and is rewarded with a slap from her father. However the couple stay in touch despite Charity being shipped off to boarding school, and when they come of age Charity (now played by Michelle Williams) gives up her luxury lifestyle to marry Phineas and they have two girls together.

After Phineas is laid off by his bosses because the company is going under, he manages to secure a loan, a loan he uses to buy a museum of oddities. When his museum starts to fail he is inspired to invite unusual looking people to join a show like no other ever seen, his recruits include bearded lady Letty Lutz (Keala Settle), Tom Thumb (Sean Humphrey), and black brother-and-sister trapeze artists W.D. Wheeler (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Anne Wheeler (Zendaya).

The film rushes through the plot a little and does not delve into the darker side of Barnums life including the many hoaxes he was accused of, but its strength lies in a number of catchy songs that are presented as big production numbers, from the songwritters of La la Land. Showstopping anthems include Jackman’s “The Greatest Show” and “A Million Dreams” and the romantic “Rewrite the Stars” the beautiful duet by Efron and Zendaya. 

All in all a good family movie with a certain feel good factor that will appeal to tweens and parents alike, but may be a little too deep for little ones who will find a lot of the story go over their heads.