Over the years, one of the biggest criticisms of Dear Evan Hansen has been Evan's flawed motives and choices throughout the story, and the movie attempts to address that with a new ending. In the musical, Evan's secret about pretending to be Connor's friend never comes out, but in the movie, Evan actually confesses to everything in a recorded video that he shares to social media. He also attempts to learn more about Connor by reaching out to various people who knew him when he was alive. He eventually connects with someone who shares a beautiful song Connor wrote when he was in rehab. Instead of closing with "Finale," aka a reprise of "For Forever," the film ends with a reprise of Connor's song.
Why it hurts the adaptation: While I appreciate that the film holds Evan somewhat accountable for his actions in the end, the movie ending just doesn't have the same emotional punch. I fully expected to be sobbing by the end of the movie, but when the credits started rolling, I was just left wondering, "That's it?" I think a large part of this is due to the fact that the movie doesn't end with "Finale." The song just ties the whole story together, whereas ending on "A Little Closer" feels slightly disjointed.
