Tick, Tick… Boom! 

Tick, Tick… Boom! is an autobiographical musical by acclaimed songwriter Jonathan Larson, who is most known for writing the music, lyrics and book for Rent. Recently, it was adapted into a film and released on Netflix, with Lin-Manuel Miranda directing and Andrew Garfield starring as Jonathan Larson. 

Synopsis

Written before Rent, the film describes Larson’s own experiences as an aspiring songwriter in New York City. It starts off with him discussing a ticking noise that he hears in his head which seems to get faster and faster, reminding him that he is running out of time. In the week leading up to his 30th birthday, Larson has to focus on managing his relationship with those around him while preparing for the workshop of his musical Superbia. Hesees it as his last chance to succeed before the age of 30, and thus places a lot of pressure on the workshop’s success.  Amidst this pressure, Larson struggles to strike a balance between his personal relationships and his career. 

Rating

8/10

Opinion (not really any spoilers)

Firstly, I really enjoyed the themes explored in the film. Larson experiences a lot of self-doubt and fear of failure throughout the entire movie, and these feelings definitely resonate with me. Larson constantly compares himself to other songwriters like Stephen Sondheim who achieved success when they were way younger than Larson. He feels that in order to be acknowledged as a remarkable songwriter, he should have become successful ages ago. In addition, upon seeing his friend’s success in other industries, he becomes frightened that he has chosen the wrong career path and wasted his time.  Like Larson, many of us second-guess our decisions and get scared by failure. The movie successfully explores this aspect of human nature by delving into Larson’s insecurities. Have you ever felt overwhelmed by Higher Education talks? How many times have you felt unsure about your future university or career choice? The film really brings out these feelings of uncertainty, and it is comforting to know that other people deal with these emotions as well. Thus, I really like how Tick, Tick… Boom! explores these themes of fear and uncertainty, making the film feel relatable.

Another theme that is explored is the feeling of helplessness. In the film, Larson faces situations where there is nothing he can do to change the outcome or make things better. Things are very much out of his control, and we are able to see how this affects him. For example, even as some of his friends are dying due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, he is unable to do much to alleviate their pain and is only able to watch passively as his friends suffer. Even in his own life, he feels like time is running out before he can even do anything. And yet, Larson is still able to focus on the positives. In the heartbreaking song “Why”, Larson reminisces about his experiences with his dying friend, and ends the song with a promise to appreciate the time they spent together. I really like that the film shows how it is possible to overcome feelings of helplessness.

Of course, a musical would be nothing without its music. I think it goes without saying that the music here is absolutely incredible. Written by Jonathan Larson himself, the songs bear his unique brand of quirkiness, and bring about the aforementioned themes very eloquently. My favourite song is the opening number, “30/90”. It introduces the audience to his fear of getting older with allusions to children’s stories like Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz, further emphasising his reluctance to leave his youth behind. Not only is it catchy and upbeat, but lyrics like “They’re singing Happy Birthday, you just want to lay down and cry” really contribute to the playful atmosphere. Even if you’ve taken nothing away from this review so far,  I strongly recommend that you listen to this song. Another interesting song is “Therapy,” which is about a conflict between Larson and his girlfriend. It offers delightfully convoluted sentences that reflect on the difficulty of communication in a relationship. Overall, the songs have interesting lyrics that strike true and vary from upbeat to slow and thought-provoking. The production and lyricism effectively convey the message and emotions of the film.

Lastly, I also liked how the musical was translated very naturally from stage to film. Oftentimes, there is a lot of trouble with movie adaptations of musicals (see Cats and Dear Evan Hansen), but Tick, Tick… Boom! felt like it was well-suited to be told in this format. By switching between Larson’s performance of the stage version of the musical in 1992 and the events of his life as they were unfolding in 1990, the film adaptation flowed easily. A scene I particularly liked was when Larson improvises the “Boho Days” song at a party. The way he moved around the room to turn what he saw into lyrics felt natural, with him building from a simple beat to create a song about how “This is the life.” There was a genuine feeling of playfulness as a result of the improv, and the scene also felt very homely, providing us with a glimpse into his life.  In these moments, the movie format was quite successful in showing what happened in an organic manner.

Overall

All in all, I really enjoyed watching the film. It managed to be both funny and heartfelt, switching rapidly between scenes of lightheartedness and feelings of utter heartbreak. I believe that a good balance was struck between the two, and audiences would enjoy the ups and downs of the movie. 

Something I have learned is that we should always have hope for the future. Yes, this might sound cliché, but it really does strike true here. Even though everything may feel overwhelming at the moment, the world will not end just because a certain task was not accomplished. Throughout the movie, Larson constantly felt unworthy for not achieving success before the age of 30, but in reality, that was just a self-imposed deadline. We now know that he was able to go on and achieve so many things afterwards, even though it took him a bit longer than others. Now, he is even known for making Broadway more accessible by telling the stories of people who are different. Though we do not know what our future holds, we can always grasp on tightly to that spark of optimism and face the future with our heads held high.