Tick, Tick..Boom

Ever watched a movie that leaes you feeeling as though someone has placed a rock in your chest? Thats precisely how I felt after watching the Andrew Garfield movie-Tick, Tick... Boom. 

The movie moved up places in my to see list, the minute I saw that the lead actor bagged an award at the Golden Globes. And what a brilliant performnce. 

Tick,Tick... Boom tis based on Jonathan Larson, a playwright who lived in New York city, trying to make ends meet, composing and navigating between pressures of a relationship and friendships around him. After several trials and tribulations, Larson goes on to create the hit musical Rent ad sadly doesnt live to see the first preview performance at Broadway. 

I was intrigued by how the movie resonated with me on so many levels. One was the dialogue exchange betwen Garfield and the manager after his first performance at the workshop. She says how a writers life comprises of having to keep writing the next one until something clicks. This is followed by Garfield's downcast expression as he thought this was the best he could write. Over the last couple of years, I've realised that a writer's life is a struggling one. You keep writing and writing until you find that agent/publisher who is enthralled by your manuscript. Rejections are a part and parcel of a writer's journey. 

Garfield is dealing with the pressures of his relationship with his girlfriend who wants to move places, his job which renders him broke most of the time, his inability to come up with lyrics a week before his workshop. It was interesting how Garfield deals with this infamous wall in writing. He dives into the pool and voila! he comes up with the lyics of the song while he is swimming laps. I couldnt help thinking how swimming, writing and music have one thing in common-rhythm. As a triathlete, most of my writing idea s come from either my swims, bike rides or runs. Swimming especially has this inate ability to nurture and declutter your mind, to an extent where ideas flow freely, just like water. 

The direction of the movie, needless to say, was brilliant. I was particularly struck by how the chaos in Garfield's life bledded well with the chaos in his mind. The mundanity of the life of the character was beautifully portrayed. I often think its challenging to capture mundanity in a movie and make it interesting. Parasite did that pretty well. Nothing much really happens and yet so much happens. 

Andrew Garfield's performance was scintillating, right from his expressions and portrayal of a multitude of emotions. To be honest, I have seen very little of his work. Spiderman(2012) and the recent one. After Tick, tick..boom, I definitely would love to see more of his work. The rest of the supporting cast did a phenomenal job too. 

I was heartbroken to see how the playwrighter did not live to see his success as he died at the age of 35. What a tragedy! As the movie ended, I was left with a bitersweet feeling that made me reach for a box of tissues.