Big Picture Big Sound

The year of the musical continues with Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut "Tick, Tick...Boom!" It's been a great year for Broadway fans, with many adaptions ("In the Heights" being the best and "Dear Evan Hansen" being the absolute worst) of popular stage shows and more still to come (Steven Spielberg's adaptation of "West Side Story" will be out in December). "Tick, Tick...Boom!" will likely be the most inside baseball of the adaptations, but it has just enough broad appeal to entertain those who may not know the film's backstory.

Andrew Garfield ("The Eyes of Tammy Faye") stars as Jonathan Larson, the creator of Broadway's "Rent," who opens the movie as he is about to turn 30. Larson is in a state of existential limbo, as many feel when their age shifts to a new decade. He's clearly still young, but is he is still young enough to create great art? This is the question that haunts Larson. He works at a diner, lives with (and a little bit off) his friend Michael (Robin de Jesus), who is moving to his own apartment. His girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp, "Endless") is pursuing her own career goals, but Larson is stuck trying to write one last important song for his play's showcase.

Miranda has crossed many things off his creative bucket list since skyrocketing to fame with "Hamilton," so directing seemed like the next logical step. He invests "Tick, Tick...Boom!" with an undeniable energy and passion, but with a new director's sense of pacing. The movie feels frontloaded with the all of the musical razzamatazz, and the back half slows down into a conventional story about an artist's struggle to achieve greatness.

Garfield serves as the film's narrator from a stage and behind a piano; this is supposed to be Larson's off-Broadway show that gives the movie its name. It's a well-worn storytelling device that proves largely unnecessary and divulges some pertinent information upfront, which may feel too soon for the less Broadway initiated members of the crowd.

Regardless of any quibbles, "Tick, Tick...Boom!" is entertaining to watch, largely due to Garfield's sensational performance as Larson. "The Social Network" put Garfield on the map, and a few years later he went on to become Spider-Man in the two "The Amazing Spider-Man" movies. Those weren't received well and his webslinging career was cut short, so Garfield never got the opportunity to ascend into true movie stardom. In some ways that can be a blessing for an actor like Garfield, who got to do much more interesting independent features, but "Tick, Tick...Boom!" might be a career-best. He grabs hold of the camera and doesn't let go. It's will be hard to take your eyes off such a commanding performance.

The movie is certainly a respectful tribute to Larson, but it is never afraid to show the price of his artistic obsession. He sacrifices personal relationships and isn't always the most respectful to others because he is unable to see that a world is happening outside of his own. "Tick, Tick...Boom!" doesn't go as far as to indict such behavior, but it isn't blind to it. We've seen stories about struggling artists time-and-time again, but Garfield brings such bravura energy to his performance that it all feels brand new.