There has been much controversy about the new movie released on September 24th, Dear Evan Hansen. This movie is based on the book: Dear Evan Hansen, which is also a popular Broadway musical. In this movie, the main character Evan suffers from extreme anxiety and depression. When Evan meets the parents of Connor Murphy, a student who recently committed suicide, Connor’s parents are under the false impression that Connor and Evan were friends. Not wanting to disappoint Connor’s parents by telling them that Evan and Connor hardly knew one another, Evan gets wrapped up in a crazy, twisted lie so that he can have the family life he has always wanted. He also gets his dream romance in the process, until he comes clean by telling the truth and everything falls apart. This movie has a great message and shows firsthand how suicide affects a family and a high school. It spreads suicide awareness and reminds people that they are not alone.

The main character, Evan, is played by Ben Platt, who was formerly the first Evan Hansen on Broadway; this led him to play the main role in the movie. People were unsure if he looked the part, though, and viewers mocked him for looking too old to play a high schooler when seeing clips of the trailer before the movie was officially released. Some people thought that this could bring down the movie since it looked unrealistic for him to be playing a high schooler. This was not the case. Ben Platt plays a fantastic Evan and always has in the past. He was originally cast as this character for a reason. Through Platt’s acting, he lets viewers feel the range of emotions and extreme anxiety attacks that Evan goes through throughout the movie; I couldn’t see anyone else playing this part. 

I highly recommend going to see this movie in theaters, but if you want a better understanding of what is happening, I recommend reading the book by authors Benj Pasek, Val Emmich, Steven Levenson, and Justin Paul. The book was phenomenally written and caused the Dear Evan Hansen franchise to become a musical and later a movie. I hope after reading this, you consider watching the movie Dear Evan Hansen!