‘Wicked’ review: everything a dazzling fairy tale musical should have
Director: Juan M. Chu | Script: Dana Fox, Winnie Holzman | Cast: Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba), Ariana Grande (Glinda), Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero), Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible), Marissa Bode (Nessarose), Jeff Goldblum (Wizard of Oz), ea | Playing time: 160 minutes | Year: 2024
All those who The Wizard of Oz He’s seen, he knows how it all ends with the Wicked Witch of the West. And if you haven’t experienced his fate yet, the opening scene will thrill you. Wicked There is no doubt about that. Yes, the Wicked Witch of the West is dead. The charming and extremely pink witch Glinda delights the inhabitants of Munchkinland with this news. However, when an audience member asks her if she and the deceased knew each other, cracks appear in Glinda’s impeccable appearance.
The good witch has to admit that they both went to the same school. It’s clear that Glinda is beating around the bush, because it turns out that more than just a fleeting encounter occurred. Wicked tells their shared history and is therefore an “origin story” for both Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West, once known as Elphaba.
Elphaba is green. No, she didn’t eat grass when she was little and yes, she was born that way. Discrimination based on the color of her skin, even from her own (stepfather), has turned Elphaba into an isolated and defensive person. However, a world opens up for her when she is sought out for the Shiz magic school because of her magical powers. Her roommate, of course, becomes the vain and spoiled Glinda. Their love-hate relationship is the driving force behind a fun, dazzling, but also sad and sensitive adventure.
It’s nice that Stephen Schwartz’s Broadway phenomenon (which premiered in 2003) is finally coming to the big screen, so everyone can see it for the price of a movie ticket. Even better is that it has been made into a wonderful movie. Of course, the script and songs of the musical were already rock solid, but the visual splendor, the closer proximity to the characters (as if you were sitting in the front row) and at the same time the larger scale of the film medium are a perfect coat.
The Land of Oz is in Wicked Again a colorful kingdom, but bright tones and strong contrasts are out of place. The Wizard of Oz Now they are a little more pastel in color. Sure, Glinda’s clothes are pretty and pink and the Emerald City lights up emerald green, but the backgrounds, landscapes, characters and buildings are generally a little paler than nostalgic viewers would like. However, it fits the tone of this film, which, aside from the comedic antics, is quite serious and, strangely, even based in reality.
Except for the color combination. Wicked fortunately it is not austere in any sense. The sets are clever and full of fun details, highlighting Shiz’s library (or as Glinda calls it, “the book place”) with rotating cabinets and architecture ideal for a community dance. The musical numbers are exciting and wonderfully choreographed, as befits a bombastic musical.
Wicked It has great scope in its plot, acting, soundtrack and duration. He the lord of the rings-The running time of this story cut in half certainly works in the film’s favor. Time is taken for certain developments that in other productions would be accelerated. The scenes are long and show everyone’s different emotions, but they never get boring. Those eleven minutes fly by.
An important issue is the question of whether someone is born bad or whether circumstances make him that way. Nature or nurture? The film is clear about this: Elphaba is a kind and fair young woman who is a victim of her environment. She is despised, discriminated against and manipulated. This first part of the diptych does not show in any way why Elphaba owes the epithet ‘Bad’, except that her enemies want to portray her in that bad light.
Because Elphaba is actually the heroine of the story from the beginning and never falls from her pedestal in this part, her character is a little boring at times. Cynthia Erivo plays her in a restrained and sensitive way. It only becomes entertaining when Ariana Grande appears as the most beautiful girl in the G(a)linda class. Grande has already acted in some film roles in the past, but here she proves to be a huge comedic talent, who also plays the emotional scenes perfectly. The role is truly tailored to him; She’ll probably be Glinda forever.
A nice addition to the cast is Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, who played the original Glinda and Elphaba on Broadway and have a vocal cameo here. No wonder they all sing beautifully. Except for one actor, but hey, that’s Jeff Goldblum. Sorry to the casting director, because Goldblum automatically doubles the comedic content of every production he appears in. It makes an already great movie even better.