“Why does it take a disaster for things to change?”

Impressive from start to finish, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut shines and lives up to the hype of his other creative works with a flourish and a bow. Docudramas are a difficult thing to pull off for even the most well known of folks, and I’d venture to say that most movie-goers have never even intentionally heard the name “Jonathan Larson” until recently; and Lin makes him out to be exactly the revolutionary he was. Before the overwhelming success of Rent though, Jonathan Larson was no different than many of us – talented, tired, confused, and a little afraid of what the future holds. Tick, Tick… Boom! shows us just what it took to make him the name that if you didn’t already, you should know now.

While musicals are always difficult pieces to digest if they don’t hit you just right, Tick offers something further that few do. The stylish but precise and intentional editing tells a story in several parts over several locations and time periods all while weaving the audience through a narrative that encapsulates and excites. The tightness of the audio mixing and inventive, almost Zimmer-esque, soundscape ensures that you always feel pushed forward, anxious for what is to come next, reserved and sad about what is lost – or will be soon –, and boisterous and proud at what you’ve accomplished even though there is so much more to do. Very few musicals, and even fewer docudramas, feature technical aspects worthy of praise. Often the former lean very heavily on high flying song and dance to distract from paltry storytelling and blasé effort aside from the music itself, while the latter usually struggles to make you care for a real person in a fictional setting if you didn’t already by walking the tight balance of fact and fiction. Tick suffers neither.

Led by an excellent performance from Andrew Garfield [of recent and semi-recent Spiderman fame], Miranda’s vision is upheld faithfully as he plays and sings as though the music on screen were his own. The supporting cast members all uphold their end of the bargain with none outshining or underperforming the others to create a blend of faces and voices that feel genuine and unique.

I know that I went into this with a bias against Larson, being someone who actively dislikes the music from Rent. Now, I think I’ll just give it a second shot.

Find your inspiration, turn off your phone, and take a trip down the road less traveled, where you never sacrifice who you are for who they want you to be with the very impressive “Tick, Tick… Boom!”

“Got any ideas?
– Just questions…”