In 2021, movie musicals are again the rage. “In the Heights” and “Annette” have already been released. Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” is soon to follow. Back in 2015, a coming-of-age musical entitled “Dear Evan Hansen” premiered on Broadway, and took the world by storm by winning six Tony Awards. Based on a book penned by Steven Levenson, it follows the eponymous character, a teen suffering from social anxiety, as he navigates a local tragedy for his own gain.

Evan (Ben Platt) wears a cast to protect the left arm he broke due to falling from a tree. He wants to talk to his crush, a guitar-playing Zoe Murphy (Kaitlyn Dever). But his anxiety gets in the way. To diffuse his uneasiness, his therapist suggests he write peppy letters to himself addressed as “Dear Evan Hansen.” When Zoe’s troubled brother Connor (Colton Ryan), however, takes one of Evan’s letters, only to die by suicide, Evan is tossed in the tumult of a fractured, grieving family. Connor’s parents believe Evan was his best friend. But the reality is far different. Evan plays along with the charade, gaining the fame, adulation and love he’s always dreamed of, all at the expense of Connor’s memory.

In Stephen Chbosky’s cinematic adaptation of “Dear Evan Hansen,” a 27-year-old Ben Platt reprises his role as the teenage titular character.

Connor’s grieving parents — Cynthia (Amy Adams) and Larry (Danny Pino) — meet with Evan under the belief he was Connor’s one close friend. Evan doesn’t put up much of a fight, which is blamed on his anxiety. But he deepens the subterfuge by enlisting his friend Jared (Nik Dodani) to create fake email exchanges supposedly written by Evan and Connor. The correspondence paints a picture of the pair visiting Connor’s favorite orchard, Evan falling from a tree, and Connor nursing him back to health. Cynthia and Larry completely buy the distasteful con. In his duping, Evan is revealed as a devious protagonist.

Evan’s mother Heidi, played by Julianne Moore, is a single mom, working late-night nursing shifts to afford college for Evan. She desperately wants the best for him, even when he doesn’t notice her efforts. The musical’s best scenes revolve around her, when Cynthia and Larry offer to cover Evan’s tuition. She’s proud. And you can see the gears shifting inside of Moore’s head before she declines.

The film’s big reveal hinges on the total betrayal of a character, Alanna. Played with a modicum of sincerity by Amandla Stenberg, Alanna is the Student Body President who wants to prove that she’s worth something. In a film composed of self-interested characters, she’s the most selfless. She ultimately takes an action that sabotages Evan.

With “Dear Evan Hansen,” Chbosky aims to identify with those struggling with mental health challenges, but he and the source material only possess a superficial understanding of such travails. The worst scene is when Evan gets the recording of Connor singing during a group therapy session, sending it to everyone he knows. Who videotapes a group therapy session? Who then sends that footage? It’s blatant emotional manipulation on the part of the film. (SD-Agencies)