Merrily We Roll Along

2025

Action / Musical

14
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 95% · 59 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 95% · 500 ratings
IMDb Rating 7.3/10 10 964 964

friendship musical based on play or musical coming of age broadway broadway musical

Director

Maria Friedman Photo
Maria Friedman

Top cast

Daniel Radcliffe Photo
Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas
Jonathan Groff Photo
Jonathan Groff as Franklin Shepard
Lindsay Mendez Photo
Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn
Reg Rogers Photo
Reg Rogers as Joe Josephson
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 1080p.WEB.x265 2160p.WEB.x265
1.31 GB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  de  es  fr  it  pt  sv  
23.976 fps
2 hr 25 min
Seeds 79
2.68 GB
1920*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  de  es  fr  it  pt  sv  
23.976 fps
2 hr 25 min
Seeds 100+
2.43 GB
1920*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  de  es  fr  it  pt  sv  
23.976 fps
2 hr 25 min
Seeds 93
6.47 GB
3840*2160
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  de  es  fr  it  pt  sv  
23.976 fps
2 hr 25 min
Seeds 61

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ilikeimdb 7 / 10

(Mostly) excellent performances but issues with cinematography

I had two primary issues with this Merrily (which I've seen live multiple times on both coasts). First issue: The over-the-top Les Misérables Hooper-in-your-face shots are often disconcerting - why are we presented with cast jump shots? The choice to pull back to the proscenium versus full-face seems almost random. This is annoying. Second issue: The over-the-top histrionics especially in the first scene feel out of place - caricature upon exaggerated caricature. Is this Sondheim or Telenovela? Not that I'd want to cut something out (this is Sondheim) but parts of this production do drag in the middle. Glad there's a permanent record of fine actors (strong nods to all the leads) giving their all to Merrily but, as mentioned, I do question a number of the directorial / cinematographic choices.
Reviewed by EUyeshima 9 / 10

A True Sondheim Classic Captured for Posterity

I was fortunate to see the 2024 Broadway revival of this Stephen Sondheim masterwork. It was such a transcendent evening of theatre that I was hesitant to see this 2025 ProShot screen translation. However, director Maria Friedman does an impressive job rethinking the stage blocking and inserting close-ups for the camera. Proving her credentials, she had directed not only the stage revival but also a 2013 film version of the same show. Recorded over just three performances at the Hudson Theatre, the film follows the play faithfully and enhances the emotional impact of the character interactions. The concept in George Furth's original book, unchanged in the resulting screenplay, remains challenging in presenting a highly complex backward chronology that follows a trio of friends over the course of two decades. The complications start with the characters introduced as estranged and cynical at forty. We are then led gradually back to their youthful innocence when they were full of dreams and unsure of their talent. The bond of their relationship is what gets them through the turbulence of both success and failure despite the inevitable intrusion of other characters who threaten to extract the threesome from each other. The three central performances remain sterling on screen. As Frank, the most ambitious and divisive of the trio, Jonathan Groff becomes even more central in the film version, easily alternating between fiercely narcissistic and deeply empathetic. Lindsay Mendez plays self-effacing Mary with equal parts turbulence and vulnerability as she constantly pulls back on her love for Frank. Her opening scene is devastating without context. Daniel Radcliffe is winsome and even more poignant on screen, pulling off his two big numbers - the comical meltdown "Franklin Shepard, Inc." and the shimmering "Good Thing Going" - with bell-like assurance. The rest of the cast improves from stage to screen with Katie Rose Clarke believably naive as Frank's first wife Beth (her take on "Not a Day Goes By" is lovely), and Krystal Joy Brown really comes to life as his second wife Gussie. I'm so glad Friedman has done such an impeccable job in capturing this chestnut for posterity.
Reviewed by ferguson-6 7 / 10

Friendship, Love, Show Biz

Greetings again from the darkness. For live theater lovers, the film version of a favorite play or musical comes with pros and cons. The film's director, Maria Friedman (a renowned stage actor) strives to deliver the intimacy of a stage performance with cinematic qualities. What we see was the filming of a stage presentation in June 2024 at The Hudson Theater in New York City. The story was written by George Furth with music by Stephen Sondheim, only the production has quite an interesting history, with an original production in 1934 written by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart.The story structure is fascinating in that it's presented in reverse order. The opening sequence shows the resulting breakdown of friendship between three: composer Franklin Sheperd (Jonathan Groff), playwright and lyricist Charley Kringas (Daniel Radcliff), and theater critic and author Mary Flynn (Lindsay Mendez). All three actors are Tony Award winners and are in prime form here. We then proceed to go back in time across three decades as the years are noted. Instead of watching this friendship triumvirate breakdown, we watch the bonds grow stronger ... only of course this is actually putting the causes of the breakdown on center stage - one phase at a time.It's not just the three leads who are standouts. Katie Rose Clarke as Beth Sheperd, Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie, and Reg Rogers as Joe Josephon are all excellent. It's rare to find so many superb soloists in one program, and each has their moment (or moments) to shine. Beth is Franklin's first wife and the mother of his child. Gussie is a Broadway star and Franklin's second wife, while Joe is a producer who experiences the highs and lows of show business.While the play-it-in-reverse structure provides a uniqueness to the presentation, the story itself has quite a bit to offer in terms of complexity. The fragility of friendship and the importance of constantly working at relationships is front and center, yet it's only one element. Also on display here is how cruel show business can be. Sometimes you are loved and showered with adulation, while other times they say you are too old for a role. Ego and emotions are constantly in play here, including envy and arrogance. Although it's the sneakiest element, perhaps my personal favorite is the unrequited love Mary carries towards an unaware Franklin. It leads to her bitterness and alcoholism, and her story is the most interesting when you read about the origins of Kaufman's story. When the opening number is a robust, "How did you get to be here?", the rest of the play is spent showing us.Opening in theaters on December 5, 2025.
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