As much as I’ve been critical of Lin Manuel Miranda in the past, “Tick, Tick … Boom!,” his directorial debut, an adaptation of the late Jonathan Larson’s play, Isn’t half-bad. Manuel-Miranda doesn’t overdirect, Steven Levenson’s screenplay is smoothly written, and, best of all, Andrew Garfield carries the whole thing with such panache.
The film premiered at AFI this past week to positive reviews. There’s a playfulness throughout the picture that really earns your attention. There’s also a slew of Broadway legends that appear in and out; Bernadette Peters and Brian Stokes Mitchell to Joel Grey, Bebe Neuwirth, and Chita Rivera, among many more.
Larson was a young theater composer, waiting tables at a New York City diner in 1990, while writing what he hoped to be the next great American musical. The film takes place days before he’s supposed to show his work to a crowd, but he also has to deal with a crumbling relationship, a friend who has moved on to financial security and a community ravaged by the AIDS epidemic — the latter would ultimately inspire him to write “Rent.”
The supporting cast is excellent, including Robin de Jesus who plays Larson’s best friend/roommate and a memorable cameo by Bradley Whitford as Stephen Sondheim. But “Tick, Tick .. Boom!” is really the Andrew Garfield show. The 38-year-old California-born actor has built up a considerable filmography these last few years and his talents are in full-display here.