I’ll be honest and say that I was not expecting to like ‘Wicked.’ As I kept hearing news after news about it – the film being part one of two, the total running time of the film is longer than the stage musical (roughly two hours and forty minutes), and others – I was becoming more and more apprehensive about it. The only thing that I was excited about was the casting of Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. Erivo is a fantastic actress and a damn good singer. If anyone can bring that character to the screen, it’s her. It doesn’t help that other than ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘Good,’ I’m not a fan of the musical as well.
So it was to my utter surprise that as ‘Wicked’ part 1 ended, I found myself in tears.
With director Jon M. Chu at the helm, ‘Wicked’ manages to find its heart despite the overindulgent (not a bad thing) design of the world that leans a lot towards the psychedelic and the absurd. By not being grounded visually, it allows for the film to take very whimsical approaches to character reactions and makes it believable. In a world as colorful and extraordinary as Oz, how is a baby being born green such an affront to everyone’s taste? But it works because the world in itself feels off-kilter and kooky.
‘Wicked’ follows the first act of the musical of the same name (which is based on the book by Gregory Maguire). With an extended running time, the film takes it time to really establish the characters and their complex dynamic, which is the heart and soul of the film. It’s the story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a woman who was born with green skin. Shunned by her family and society, she has lived quietly, taking it all in and never letting any of it out. Deep within her is a power that she cannot understand, and it gets her a seat at Shiz University where her sister is enrolled. There she meets Galinda (Ariana Grande), and they quickly become enemies but as they get to know each other better, they become the best of friends.
The bulk of ‘Wicked’ comes from the shift in the dynamic of Elphaba and Galinda’s (who later becomes Glinda) relationship. Gravitating around their friendship are stories about how the talking animals are slowly being persecuted and a handsome prince, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) also comes into the picture to become the love interest of both women. These subplots serve to push and pull on the two girls as they begin to realise something about each other and themselves that forces them to make massive decisions by the end of the film that will change the course of their lives forever.
At the heart of it, ‘Wicked’ is a story about discrimination. Elphaba is shunned and ridiculed for the color of the skin and Cynthia Erivo embodies this so magnificently. Unlike iterations of this I’ve seen on YouTube or when I saw the play at the CCP by the Australian touring cast, Erivo’s Elphaba is a young woman who is forced to be mature by her oppression. She is wound up and tense. She’s guarded. But deep inside that hard exterior, is a young girl looking for acceptance and belonging.
It’s why when she becomes close with one of her professors who is a talking goat (Peter Dinklage), she softens, and the effect is palpable on screen. When her and Galinda’s relationship turns towards friendship, that vulnerability suddenly becomes visible. And when the plot brings her to a point when she discovers the power that is deep within her, leading up to the showstopping ‘Defying Gravity,’ Erivo becomes a raging storm. The performance is one-of-a-kind, and it helps that she can really sing like the best of them.
Grande is a natural comedienne. She has great timing and a sincerity that makes her Galinda feel as genuine as she is oblivious to the larger things that are at play. It’s her chemistry with Erivo that helps secure the film’s narrative into stable ground that allows the film to take flight at its finale. But while Grande’s performance is strong and a definite crowd-pleaser, it really feels like a reverent interpretation of Kristen Chenoweth’s portrayal of Galinda. It’s no secret that Grande has been in love with this show since she first saw it at ten years old. I feel that her attack on the character was to do the best version of Chenoweth’s Galinda rather than doing something uniquely her own. It’s not a fault, really, because she did a great job, but I was hoping for something different.
Bailey is obviously having a lot of fun, showing off his range and managing to turn his Prince Fiyero into a bisexual sex symbol. He brings a wave of teen-filled desire into this PG-13 movie and makes it a little dangerous, which is always fun. Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, and Peter Dinklage are always reliable and help create a fully realised psychedelic world that has a great big heart and a strong message to finding your own voice and taking a stand.
The almost-three hour running time goes by so fast and you never really feel it. I am absolutely shocked that ‘Wicked’ is as good as it is with my only fear that Part Two will not be able to match the narrative highs that this film manages to attain.
My Rating:
Wicked is now casting its spell in cinemas! Check showtimes and buy your tickets here for a magical movie experience.
