Movie Review: 'Hamilton' Arrives on Disney Plus

I have a confession to make, I am incredibly jealous of those who get to see first run Broadway shows. Whether it is because I hate to hear of an arts conversation that I cannot be part of, or because I am jealous of the reactions of my peers who do get that first hand experience, I have, in the past, and in an immature fashion, slagged off Broadway presentations as if they weren’t important cultural moments. It was purely spiteful and I own that.

I really wanted to be part of the conversation that emerges around a major Broadway release. Proximity and finance make that impossible for me and so I have to live vicariously through the experiences of others and the FOMO is real. Thankfully, after 5 years of buzz from one of the biggest Broadway shows of all time, and thanks to Disney Plus, I can finally join the conversation surrounding Hamilton.

In 2015, Hamilton dropped into the culture with an impact that few Broadway shows had ever had. Creator Lin Manuel Miranda went from the relative obscurity of a talented character actor to culture wide phenomenon and all while only a fraction of the country were able to experience his towering work of genius. It’s not unfair, in fact, for those unable to experience Hamilton to be skeptical of the sudden ascendancy of Miranda, most of us did not have the frame of reference.

That created quite the uphill battle for Hamilton to make 5 years later. Few cultural phenomena can claim the kind of hype that surrounded Hamilton in the months and years that followed its explosion into the cultural firmament. Now, those who don’t have ready access to Broadway are finally getting the chance to see what all of the hype was about. Is it possible that something as adored and ballyhooed as Hamilton is indeed as good as that small number of people claim? Disney Plus is answering that question with the release of Hamilton, filmed with the original Broadway cast, on stage, and now available to stream.

Hamilton stars Lin Manuel Miranda as famed founding father Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton, go on to shape American government during the constitutional convention, alongside future Presidents, came to America just as Revolutionary thinking was beginning to spread. He’d survived a monsoon that took his last remaining relatives and left his home in the Leeward Islands an orphan. So beloved was young Hamilton and so intelligent, he was staked to attend University in America at King’s College, known today as Columbia University.

There, Hamilton first meets Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom Jr), a famed student in his own right who managed an early graduation, something Hamilton is eager to gain. That desire would go unmet however, as Hamilton leaves Burr behind to embrace revolution in his friendship with the Marquis De Lafayette (Daveed Diggs), Hercules Mulligan (Okieriete Onaodowan) and John Laurens (Anthony Ramos) whom he overhears talking revolution over many, many drinks.

Hamilton then began writing and speaking in public about revolution and breaking away from England and the mad king George the 3rd (Jonathan Groff), who appears in very funny cameo performances throughout the story. Eventually, Hamilton catches the eye of General George Washington (Christopher Jackson) who drafts the young revolutionary as his right hand man. This is a blessing and a curse for Hamilton who finds himself pivotal to the revolution but kept away from the glory of combat by Washington’s desire to use Hamilton’s persuasive voice in the media and in letters to Congress.

Act 1 of Hamilton covers Hamilton’s rise to power and his eventual elevation to General and member of George Washington’s cabinet. It’s a remarkably well told story told at a tremendous pace and via music that is lively, exciting and catchy. The charisma of these performers is off the charts and Miranda’s layered storytelling builds a strong foundation for an ending that, though well known, is nevertheless emotional and striking.

When at the end of the story, Hamilton’s wife Eliza, portrayed by Phillippa Soo, steps to the fore, the emotions are thick and the tears come easy. Eliza’s role in Hamilton’s life has been so well crafted in the background of his well known historical triumphs that when she steps forward to sing about telling Alexander’s story and carrying on his name and legacy, you can’t help but be swept up in the universal notion of legacy and what it means to be remembered.

Hamilton is packed with emotional power but also with good humor and boundless energy. I mentioned charisma earlier and this incredible cast is teeming with it. Daveed Diggs is perhaps the most notable of the supporting players. Taking the role of Lafayette with a fun French accent, Diggs truly shines in the second half when he transitions to the role of Thomas Jefferson and takes an antagonistic tact opposite Hamilton. The chemistry of Diggs and Miranda as the philosophical differences between Jefferson and Hamilton play out via, no kidding, a rap battle, is off the charts. Miranda and Diggs push each other to the heights in a way you can imagine Jefferson must have pushed Hamilton.

There is another charged aspect of Hamilton at play here and that is race. The choice to have people of color portray the roles of these mostly white, male, founding fathers, has a spark to it that is ingenious. The symbolism is powerful in and of itself but it grows in meaning over time as we consider the roles of immigrants in American society and how so many people from diverse backgrounds have played pivotal roles in the shaping of this country. The casting and the use of music that reflects diverse backgrounds of all ethnicity is the ultimate expression of the melting pot that has always been the intention of the founding of this country.

5 years later, Hamilton retains the might it carried on Broadway. The musical remains relevant and may now, in fact, be even more relevant today than ever before. The construction of Hamilton is flawless, the music is invigorating and those performances are everything that they were hyped to be. I went into Hamilton a bitter skeptic, jealous of my seemingly secondhand experience of this phenomenon and came away a gobsmacked super-fan believing every last bit of the hype I had tried to deny.

Hamilton begins streaming on Disney Plus on Friday, July 3rd.