What is this feeling so sudden and new? A new movie musical of me to review. My pulse is rushing, my head is reeling, my face is flushing…from trying to figure out how to quantify my thoughts on Wicked, Universal’s big budget adaptation of the blockbuster musical which itself was based off the book by Gregory McGuire. The heights the film manages to hit are very high, but there’s just enough to keep the movie from truly defying gravity. (I am sorry for the puns, I’ll end them here). Wicked is the story of the titular Wicked Witch of the West: her upbringing, her time at Shiz when she befriended Glinda, and an important trip to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz.
Told mainly as an extended flashback after a Munchkin asks Glinda if she knew Elphaba, the script for this film is going to be one of the most talked about elements of the movie. Not only is this an adaptation of an adaptation, it’s a prequel to perhaps the most beloved film of all time. Luckily for viewers, writers Winnie Holzman (who wrote the book of the Broadway show) and Dana Fox strike a pretty good balance between the themes and characters, expanding on the canvas of the stage play. The movie is incredibly charming and when it’s at its best, there may be no film this year that can elicit a pure human reaction out of you. I found myself surprised at how emotional I became as I watched Elphaba navigate her first party and just how damn giddy I was to see Ariana’s Glinda do just about anything.
While the movie has many qualities that make it an enjoyable watch, there are moments that stand out negatively. The film begins with characters mentioning that we’re not aware of the full story…to only then present us with half of the narrative. As fans of the musical know, this film is only tackling the first act, a fact that has been missing from most of the marketing but the movie makes sure you know via title cards at the beginning and end of the film. It’s certainly a gamble to extend the first part of your story to nearly the run time of the entire Broadway show and it mostly works due to the charm and grace everyone involved in the story brings. However, I was never able to fully sink into the story with the knowledge that this isn’t where it should end.
And for how much time was added, there is a peculiar struggle when it comes to the character’s fateful trip to the Emerald City and meeting with the Wizard of Oz. A film that had at once been dealing in measured pacing suddenly sprints through many of its most crucial plot points in a way that felt unsatisfying.
Much has been made of how the movie looks on social media and for the most part many of those critiques fall flat. The movie is genuinely colorful and vibrant. Production Designer Nathan Crowley and Costume Designer Paul Tazwell were truly in their bag as the kids like to say. There’s so much to look at and marvel over in their work. Also, much of the choreography is fun and blissfully shot to allow us to see full bodies, something all too rare in musicals.
However, there are a couple of moments where the direction and cinematography actively work against what the movie has been trying to accomplish. How can you fully enjoy the wonders of Jonathan Bailey corrupting his fellow students in the library and encouraging them to dance through life when the scene is backlit in a way that would make Janusz Kaminski cringe? More unforgivable is what happens to Defying Gravity, a sequence that extends the rousing act one finale song and the way it looks at points. Despite the amazing vocals of Cynthia Erivo, I found myself wanting more.
Speaking of, the movie’s foundation and its saving grace are the performances of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. In a world in which these roles weren’t already made iconic on stage, these two actresses’ performances would have been enough to shout about. But since they had to work under such heavy expectation, Erivo and Grande are nothing sort of miraculous carving new ground and bringing fresh thought to Elphaba and Glinda. Whether they’re singing about their loathing or dancing in the Oz Dust Ballroom, it’s a treat to watch these two women bring Wicked to life and they more than make admission worthwhile.