‘Wicked’ Review: A Spectacular Cinematic Triumph

Evil first landed on Broadway on June 10, 2003, eight years after the publication of the Gregory Maguire novel of the same name. the novel –Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West—is of course based on L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 Hollywood adaptation.

This is a story with deep roots in American popular culture, stretching back over 100 years to a time when a yellow brick road was actually a metaphor for the gold standard. John Chu’s film adaptation of the stage play lives up to all that came before, perfectly capturing the magic of the Broadway musical while deepening and enriching the story in a new medium.

I’m often appalled by adaptations, too many of which decide to take the original work and change it for no good reason, either to convey a message not included in the original source material, or simply because they too often think, ​​they can tell a better story by fundamentally changing the work. There are changes in Evil, but they are all in the service of adapting a stage production to the big screen.

Not only do we get more scenes to establish Elphaba’s backstory and flesh out the world of Oz and Shiz University, but also more action set pieces that simply wouldn’t be possible on one stage. Songs once confined to a theater can now be sung in sweeping fields or magical forests. Elphaba is no longer tied to impressive stage flying tricks; now she soars above the Emerald City’s towering green spiers, her black cloak billowing in the sunset sky.

There’s a new musical segment that takes place when our heroes arrive in the Emerald City, and which largely serves as exposition (albeit hilarious) of Oz’s history, the magical Grimmerie, and a prophecy that recontextualizes Elphaba’s role in all this. , and sets the stage for her encounter soon after with the wizard himself, played by a puckish Jeff Goldblum.

(I should note that Evil the musical makes huge changes to Maguire’s novel. They can and probably should be considered almost completely different works, and although the bones of the story remain the same, there are massive changes in the ending, in the meaning of some characters and so on. Not to mention all the songs).

Everything about Evil is a triumph of cinema, from its fidelity to the musical to its beautiful and creative sets, costumes and special effects. Oz comes to life in a way we’ve never seen it before, a colorful steampunk fantasy world filled with magic and opportunity and danger. But it’s the brilliant performances that really elevate the film.

Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba, an outcast from Munchkinland who was born green. Her life has been hard, and when she arrives at Shiz University – initially just to keep an eye on her younger sister Nessarose, but quickly embraced by witchcraft professor Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) – she quickly learns that some things never change.

She becomes roommates and bitter rivals with Galinda, a rich and beautiful – and very popular – young Ozian played by Ariana Grande. The relationship between these two women is the narrative backbone of the film, and the film could not have chosen better actors to play these roles.

Fans were wary of Grande’s casting when it was announced. She is of course best known as a pop star and singer. But she absolutely nails Galinda here, from her ridiculous hair toss to her mercurial, self-obsessed personality, flickering between an armed and shallow exterior to a deeper, more empathetic side she keeps hidden from the world.

Erivo, meanwhile, captures Elphaba’s personality down to the smallest detail. She is defiant and defensive but also emotionally raw, a young woman who has been scorned by everyone, including her father, but somehow carries on alone, privately wishing for a happy ending while never expecting to find one.

And both of these women can sing. There have been some mistakes in Hollywood casting choices in the past when it comes to major Broadway adaptations. Not like this. Every moment a character sings in Evil is lovely.

I was completely blown away by every song. Of course, there are the most memorable ones like “Popular” and “Defying Gravity”, the latter serving as the end of the first Act on Broadway (and a rush to the bathroom and the bar during intermission) and the last number here before -a “To be continued” appears on the screen, with a much longer break before the second film is released. But the other tracks are fun too.

The Wizard and I gives us our first real look at just how powerful Erivo’s singing chops are as we take us on a tour of Shiz and the surrounding area. “What is this feeling?” perfectly establishes the budding rivalry and disgust the two women feel for each other. “Dancing Through Life” has one of the most creative set pieces in the entire movie in the Shiz library and serves as a major turning point in Elphaba and Galinda’s relationship, with one scene in particular really expanding the musical’s version in ways that only movies can truly achieve (you just can’t do close-ups in a stage production).

The rest of the cast is also brilliant. Jonathan Bailey is charming as a rather athletic Fiyero. Yeoh’s Morrible is deliciously deceptive. The list goes on.

The film is also littered with cameos, both big and small, all of which are cozy tributes to the people who have made it such a Broadway sensation over the past two-plus decades. An extended “One Short Day” not only gives us the original stars of the stage production, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth – with quite large singing parts! – but also composer Stephen Schwartz as one of the guards, writer Gregory Maguire as another guard, screenwriter Winnie Holzman as a woman who exclaims “He must be a . . . wizard!” and many more, including other actors who have played the lead roles over the years.

I actually just went to the Broadway musical earlier this summer (I had seen it on Broadway years ago) so it was fresh in my mind going into the movie. I’m happy to report that the film captures the magic of the musical almost perfectly, while adding its very own magic along the way. I often complain about how long movies are, but even at 2 hours and 40 minutes, I was never bored or restless, eager for it to be over. I’m also glad they chose to split the two acts of the movie into two movies. At first it sounded like a cynical Hollywood decision to make more money, but after watching it, I can’t imagine it any other way. Even if they had made this movie a 3 and a half hour movie, it would have been way too rushed.

Instead, we got a fast-paced, lovingly crafted film that gives audiences a reason to go to the cinema in a world where that is increasingly no longer the case. The Sunday afternoon show I went to was sold out. The crowd was clearly happy, although I missed the applause that accompanies a live show after each song.

Evil is a stunning success in almost every way, from its stellar performances to its sound design and special effects, to its inventive sets and costumes and its ability to capture what made the Broadway musical so special in the first place – defying both gravity and my expectations of every turn. Watch it on the biggest screen you can find. It’s the most fun I’ve had at the cinema all year.