Dear Evan Hansen

The recent surge of film adaptations of musicals—such as In the Heights or the upcoming reimagining of West Side Story—continues unabated with Dear Evan Hansen. Having premiered on stage in 2015, the coming-of-age story won six Tony Awards; the plot follows Hansen, a teenager suffering from social anxiety and seeing a therapist, who writes letters to himself as a part of healing. Original writer Steven Levenson returns for the adaptation, while Stephen Chbosky directs.

“You Will Be Found”, a key cut from the musical, is featured first in their trailer; the lyrics offer a natural sense of space between the lines for dialogue and exposition, as we see how Connor accidentally takes one of Evan’s letters. Clearly, the musical gained a large following and critical acclaim not only for its musical excellence, but also for the way it manages to tackle the very difficult subject of adolescent anxiety and self-harm.

By about the two-minute mark, it becomes fairly clear that the trailer is less for those unfamiliar with the plot. Spoiler—we see the moment when Hansen delivers a speech to the school about Connor, overcoming, to some extent, his own social inhibitions. The music responds in turn, surely deliberate in delivering the lyric “let that lonely feeling wash away” after Hansen comments on stage that he realizes he’s never alone. It’s a bit on the nose, sure, but earnestness had always been a trait of musicals—and the feel-good candour certainly takes the edge off a tough subject.

Note also how it takes nearly two minutes for a character to sing on screen. The moment of metadiegesis (a state of sound somewhere between being in the narrative world of the film and being outside it) is matched by Hansen’s breakthrough as a character in overcoming his anxiety. Again, the trailer seems to own and accept the idea that most moviegoers won’t be attending without knowing the plot, but rather, to enjoy this new adaptation of a well-loved production.

At 2:16 the music takes a turn with both a key change and a marked upward shift in tempo as the visuals focus on the positive influence Hansen has on social media. It’s sort of the antithesis of the trailer for The Social Network. This animated section fills the bill of the visual montage to lively music, which is almost obligatory at the end of trailers.

The final act of the trailer includes ensemble and choral voices, and a further montage of scenes that touch on various aspects, jubilant and morose, public and private. Note also the final touch at 3:09, as the main title card synchs with the final cadence in the piano.

By focusing on a condensed arrangement of a single, key number, and not feeling the need to be coy about plot details, the trailer in essence functions more as a sample of the film version, which may account for its three-minute length. Like the musical _Dear Evan Hanson _itself, the trailer clearly privileges musical cohesion, without a need to keep the narrative under wraps.

Dear Evan Hansen is out in theatres on September 24th.

— Curtis Perry