Wearing the sort of bling you’d expect to win on a fun fair stall run by the Wu Tang Klan we rocked up at Wicked only to find that it’s not street lingo but instead a big screen adaptation of the hit stage musical of the book that’s a prequel to the classic 1939 film, ‘The Wizard of Oz’. And so we have Wicked Part One.
It’s connection to the original film made clear from the start the Good Witch of the North arrives to tell the gathered throngs that the Wicked Witch of the West is dead and the crowds are ecstatic in their celebrations and in that respect it’s a scene likely to be re-enacted in later years in The Meghan Markel story. But the Wicked Witch of the West here is Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and the film quickly rewinds to her birth where she is rejected by her father, the governor of Munchkinland (played by the always great Andy Nyman). The reason being that Elphaba is green and her father’s suspicions must have been confirmed knowing that their milkman was The Incredible Hulk. But Elphaba is eventually sent to Shiz University by her father to support her wheelchair bound sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) and it’s here where she meets Galinda Upland , a sort of entitled Mean Girls monster used to getting her own way. Played by Ariane Grande with a flair for comedy shown in her early kids sitcom days she’s not the heinous harridan that might be expected and Galinda and Elphaba end up roommates. With Ephaba’s quickly demonstrating her natural flair for magic it soon sees her marked out for greatness by headmistress Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) and sees her destined after a whole load of grandiose showstopping song and dance numbers to meet the great Oz in the latter half of the film who himself has an ulterior reason for harnessing her magical powers
There’s a lot going on here with subtexts about racism (Elphaba being ostracized for her skin colour is a predominant theme throughout), dictatorial rulers and animal welfare just being some that are subsumed in sumptuous sets and luxurious costume design. That this is a prequel that will explain just how both witches ended up being good and bad means that Wicked – which the opening title states as being Part One, – will have a lot of heavy lifting to do in the final film.
Both leads are decent but its Cynthia Erivo who excels. A great actress ( see her in ‘Drift’ for just how good she is in dramatic roles) she has a stunning voice too. It’s little wonder that director John M Chu, when his camera is not whooshing through the set pieces, has so many close ups of her face that has her instantly empathetic with the slightest facial movement. And then there is Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard being, well , Jeff Goldblum and proving that after Christopher Walken, he’s the go to actor for most impressionists. At almost three hours this is a long film that may outstay its welcome for those not familiar with the stage musical but its production values are excellent and Erivo proves yet again that she is quickly establishing herself as one of the great actresses of recent years.
related feature : Cynthia Erivo stars in, ‘Drift’ reviewed HERE
related feature : ‘Drift’ director Anthony Chen takes us behind the scenes of this Cynthia Erivo drama
Here’s Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Cynthia Erivo & director John M. Chu introducing the film at London’s OdeonLeicester Square…
Here’s the Wicked Part One trailer…….
