Dear Evan Hansen: Viewers divided over Ben Platt’s casting in the film

The new film adaptation of the broadway play Dear Evan Hansen has split opinions on Twitter.

In the movie, Ben Platt portrays a high school student named Evan who is anxious and isolated. He embarks on a journey of self-discovery when a letter he wrote for a writing exercise falls into the hands of a grieving couple whose son took his own life.

The movie also stars Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever and Amandla Stenberg, among others.

In May 2021, when the film’s trailer was unveiled, many viewers took to social media to share their disappointment over the fact that Platt is too old to play the role of a high schooler.

Now that the film is out in the US, fans on Twitter seem to agree that the movie is “beautiful”, but are divided over whether they love it or hate it.

Spoilers follow for Dear Evan Hansen

“I just saw #DearEvanHansen and it was...good. Could’ve been better. Could’ve used a little more spice. Perfectly competent. ‘Sincerely Me’ was worth the price of admission alone though, I’d go to another show just for that number,” one person wrote on Twitter.

Another wrote: “#DearEvanHansen actually wasn’t bad; it was terrible! Casting a 27-year-old to play a high schooler aside, Ben Platt is so bad in this; he felt like an extrovert pretending to be introverted. Songs weren’t even that good; maybe would’ve been better on stage. The plot was so insulting.”

One viewer spoke out against the criticism of the film. They wrote: “I get the criticism about the storyline of #DearEvanHansen, but I still loved it and found it cathartic. Life is hard and don’t we all wish we could make it seem better than it is. And Ben Platt looked half as old as anyone in the Grease movie. Stop hating on Ben.”

Some viewers were also brought to tears after watching the film.

“#DearEvanHansen was so freaking good. I don’t think I’ve cried in the theater that much in a while. Endgame was maybe the last movie to make me cry so much?” wrote one fan.

Dear Evan Hansen’s film adaptation will be released in UK theatres on 22 October 2021.

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