Based on a work by the late Jonathan Larson, the writer and composer of “Rent,” “Tick, Tick . . . Boom!” debuted in 1991 as a stripped-down “rock monologue” starring Larson (after a 1990 workshop performance under the name “Boho Days”). The play was later retooled into a more expansive musical theater piece after Larson’s 1996 death, and has now been further refined by writer Steven Levenson (“Dear Evan Hansen”) into its current film form, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, making his feature debut. (Miranda also starred in a 2016 revival of the play.) On screen, Andrew Garfield plays a character called Jonathan Larson, who is struggling to finish a musical based on “1984” called “Superbia” — which Larson actually wrote but was never produced. It’s all less complicated than it sounds. At its heart, the film is an origin story about “Superbia,” but also a tale about the creative cauldron of Bohemian Soho that led Larson to write “Boom!” and, eventually, “Rent.” Garfield delivers a winning performance, in a movie that jumps between a staged performance of “Boom!,” featuring Vanessa Hudgens and Joshua Henry as supplemental singers, and flashbacks to the events depicted in that show. Robin de Jesus plays Jonathan’s former roommate, and Alexandra Shipp is Jonathan’s girlfriend. Ultimately, it’s a meditation on the pressures and rewards of the creative process, one that is both toe-tapping and poignant. PG-13. Available on Netflix; also available in theaters. Contains some strong language, some suggestive material and drug references. 115 minutes.