Arguably, there are many showstopping scenes in The Greatest Showman. The opening number? Electrifying. A Million Dreams? Dazzling. This Is Me? Raw and daring. But the shot I want to talk about today is this one right here:
This shot is a showstopper to me for several reasons. One and the most obvious: It's Zendaya. She's gorgeous. But this shot is part of the scene where Phillip meets Anne, and it must be worded this way because he meets Anne while she's performing.
What works about this shot and this entire scene is that Phillip and Anne see one another from their respective points of view. The world stops for both of them. At this moment, time doesn't exist, only the other person, which is often how it plays out in film and TV when meeting The One.
Just before this scene, Barnum and Phillip have just finished the number "The Other Side," and Phillip agrees to join Barnum to help generate publicity for the show. When he sees Anne, he's instantly smitten, and now he's truly on the other side of society's and his family's expectations.
Here's what I wrote for their meet-cute:
And here's the script written for the film:
There are some apparent differences. For example, the script refers to "Phineas" as Barnum, which I was going to do but, for some reason, decided against it. I went a little more into detail because it's based on the film's final cut. As for the differences in Phillip's line, in the film and the subtitles, he says, "Who is that?"
Otherwise, I don't think my work here is too shabby. What were some of your favorite moments from The Greatest Showman? Let me know in the comments!