A good movie musical can be life-changing. Think about it: a kid in a small town who’s got no access to live theater and has probably never even seen a musical, stumbles upon Hamilton or In the Heights and suddenly they’re mesmerized. Their troubles float away for those couple of hours. That leads them to Singin in the Rain or Chicago and introduces them to people and places they couldn’t possibly dream of. That’s what a good movie musical can do. That’s what Wicked does.
Based on the long-running, hit Broadway musical, the film follows only the first act, which is good because it allows the filmmakers, director Jon M. Chu (who also directed the aforementioned In the Heights), writers Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox with music by Stephen Schwartz, to open it up, giving it more room to breathe and allowing the characters to have more depth.
When we first meet young Elphaba (Karis Musongole), she’s been ostracized by her father, the Mayor of Munchkinland, for being green. A quick jump in time, a now older Elphaba (played brilliantly by Cynthia Erivo) accompanies her sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) to Shiz University where she meets Galinda (Ariana Grande, in an equally wonderful performance). The two are forced to become roommates by the head mistress Madame Morrible, a conniving Michelle Yeoh. The two quickly butt heads; Galinda is bubbly and fun, never having to work for anything in her life, while Elphaba has been knocked down and belittled for hers.
When Dr Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage), a goat and long time history professor at the school, announces he’s leaving because it’s not safe for his kind in Oz any more, Elphaba takes a stand. She’s soon on a train, accompanied by Glinda (she’s changed her name in solidarity with the animals), to Emerald City to ask the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum, who seems to be having the best time) for help.
Once there, she’s given an ultimatum to work for him and use her powers to do his bidding. She refuses and is framed as being a wicked witch.
Chu is probably one of the best movie musical directors ever. He can stage a scene with dialogue to singing, back to dialogue and back to singing and it’s fluid and flawless, with no winks to the audience. And he can get to the heart of a song with one quick camera flourish.
Having seen the stage musical a couple of times, I never really thought much about Fiyero or Boq. They’re important characters but they never really made an impact on me. But here, Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero) and Ethan Slater (Boq) bring so much more to the roles than what I feel like is allowed in the stage version.
But it’s Erivo and Grande who turn the film into an event. Grande’s Glinda is effervescent and she makes a simple head tilt speak volumes. Her rendition of ‘Popular’ is a show stopper. Erivo is the heart and soul of the film. Watch her eyes in every close-up. They’ll tell you everything, making us feel exactly what she’s feeling. The last 15 minutes of the film will give you goosebumps as she’s almost forced into being the Wicked Witch of the West. There’s the flourish of her cape and her first broom ride, all which she’s belting out ‘Defying Gravity.’ It’s a spectacular performance and if she’s not nominated for an Oscar, it’ll be a crime.
