Review: HAMILTON'S AMERICA is a Brilliant Film Worthy of its Subject

For nearly two years, all theatre lovers the world over, whether they'd seen the show or not, have understood that Hamilton is a deeply affecting, intelligently written, and surprisingly personal musical. Now, for fans who have seen Lin-Manuel Miranda's masterpiece, and for those who know it only through the cast recording, television appearances, and "Hamilton: The Revolution," PBS's GREAT PERFORMANCES has delivered a documentary that is as affecting, intelligent, and personal as its subject.

HAMILTON'S AMERICA, directed by Alex Horwitz, chronicles Hamilton's journey from idea to work in progress to phenomenon, with an artistry and insight befitting the most revolutionary piece of American art in a generation. Horwitz began following Miranda three years ago as the composer was deep in the throes of writing and re-writing the show in anticipation of the world premiere at The Public Theatre in early 2015. Throughout the hour and a half film, Horwitz masterfully draws profound connections between the historical events of Alexander Hamilton's life, the creation of the groundbreaking musical honoring his memory, and the present-day situations impacting the nation that he helped create.

The film utilizes interviews from nearly a dozen cast members, esteemed historians, governmental officials, celebrity fans, and theatrical royalty in an attempt to provide an appropriate context for what the Hamilton team has created. Presidents George W. Bush (who might have the funniest line delivery of the entire film) and Barack Obama look at what Hamilton's actions nearly 250 years ago say about how our country works today, but also what we can learn about the life of an immigrant who had wildly ambitious dreams and fought for them with every ounce of energy that he had.

Though Miranda says in the documentary that when he is on stage he is simply playing his father Luis, an immigrant who came to America to get an education before going into politics, Horwitz makes clear that the more apt modern day avatar for Hamilton is Lin-Manuel himself; both prolific writers who succeeded on their skills and tenacity, but also on the strength of their ideas.

However, Hamilton is not the only writer that the film makes a case to compare to Miranda. Oskar Eustis, The Public Theatre Artistic Director said of Miranda, "I have more than once compared Lin to Shakespeare, and I do it without blushing or apologizing." Eustis maintains that Hamilton is essentially the modern day progression of a Shakespearean History Play, raising historical events with poetic language, and then distilling it in a way for all types of people to understand and appreciate.

Like a Shakespearean play, and Hamilton itself, the documentary is dense with information, but what Horwitz does so brilliantly is unify the parallel stories of Hamilton and "HAMILTON" into something that is organically moving. From seeing cast members in awe to be in the homes in which their characters lived, to marveling at musical's most powerful moments, to witnessing a conversation between Miranda and Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman, the world's two greatest writers of historical musicals, there is so much substance in the film that it's difficult not to be overwhelmed or brought to tears multiple times.

While HAMILTON'S AMERICA features intelligent commentary from Senator Elizabeth Warren, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and two former Secretaries of the Treasury, perhaps the most profound statement in the documentary comes from Nas, a legendary hip-hop artist and idol to Miranda.

When Lin asked Nas about storytelling via rap, Nas replied, "In hip-hop, no one can tell you you're wrong unless your rhymes are whack. No one can tell you you're wrong, because it's your truth."

Somehow, Miranda, and Horwitz by extension, has found a way to make the story of a largely forgotten Founding Father feel like it is our story, feel like it is our truth. Despite the Herculean effort that Hamilton was for Miranda, the documentary also shows that throughout the process, his regular collaborators were helping him mold what would be become the seminal work in all of their careers.

Director Thomas Kail, music director Alex Lacamoire, and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler all played influential roles in shaping what became Hamilton, but the person that deserves the lion's share of the credit next to Miranda is Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Ron Chernow, whose biography inspired the musical.

Chernow, along with a handful of other historians, expertly put the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton into context, but also echoed a sentiment shared by cast members Christopher Jackson and Daveed Diggs; though the characters in the show are now revered as the geniuses that laid the foundation for what became our country, like all of us, they were human and flawed. In the film, artist and academic alike emphasizes that to truly understand either theatre or history, we must view the full scope of the characters in play, something that Miranda took great pains to do.

Highlighted by never before broadcast performances, HAMILTON'S AMERICA is a staggeringly perfect piece of documentary filmmaking. Horwitz's film is a triumphant piece of art when considered in conjunction with Hamilton, and on it's own; or to quote Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter, the MC of The Roots and a producer on Hamilton's cast album, "Real recognize real."

Were you as moved by HAMILTON'S AMERICA as I was? Let me know on Twitter @BWWMatt. You can listen to me on BroadwayRadio or on BroadwayWorld's pop culture podcast Some Like it Pop.

Banner Credit: President Barack Obama and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Photo Credit: The White House