Wicked (Part One)

A perfect example of how to adapt a stage musical for the big screen, this is sure to delight existing fans and win over new ones, thanks to its great leading performances and enchanting production design.

Premise:  Following the events of The Wizard of Oz, Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande) recounts to the citizens of Munchkinland how she and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), who would go on to become the Wicked Witch of the West, first met at Shiz University.

Reveiew:

I feel that I should make a few things clear for context at the outset: first, I’ve never seen the Wicked stage production, so I’m judging this movie adaptation on its own merits rather than comparing it to the play.  Secondly, the “classic” musical style of the songs in this are not my favourite musical genre (so I’ll be unlikely to be playing the soundtrack any time soon), and thirdly, I only have a very vague memory of having seen The Wizard of Oz as a child, and it wasn’t a favourite of mine growing up.

But all that said … I still thoroughly enjoyed Wicked, so I can only imagine that fans of the stage musical, the 1939 movie and/or the soundtrack will love this adaptation even more than I did.  Although I am not a fan of this musical style, the songs are very well performed and work effectively as a storytelling device (even if I won’t be downloading the soundtrack to listen to on its own), so it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the movie at all.  The only song I had heard before seeing the movie was “Defying Gravity” (which works very well in the context of the story), but my favourite songs were probably the more playful “What Is This Feeling?” and “Popular”, both of which are very entertainingly staged and choreographed, as is “Dancing Through Life”.

“…additional material fleshes out backstories & important character moments…”

This is Jon M. Chu’s second big screen adaptation of a stage musical (after his excellent 2021 adaptation of In The Heights), and he really knows how to adapt the material for cinema.  The set-pieces never feel constricted in the way that some stage productions can be, but equally, he doesn’t lose the intimacy or creativity that can come from working on a stage, and the production design is incredible (with much done practically, so the film never feels too greenscreen heavy).

But perhaps the best decision (and I’m not so cynical that I think it was only done for financial reasons) was to split the play into two movies (with the second movie to follow in 2025).  One criticism I’ve heard from (some) people who’ve seen the stage version of Wicked is that certain character developments feel a little rushed – but by splitting the story into two halves, the filmmakers have been able to add additional material to flesh out backstories and important character moments, so that (from the perspective of someone who hadn’t seen the play) I found all of the character developments in the movie to feel believable and earned.

“…Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande deliver their career best performances…”

Of course, although Wicked is far from a two-hander, it is nevertheless a story that focuses almost exclusively on its two main characters – Glinda (who will become “the Good Witch”) and Elphaba (who will become “the Wicked Witch of the West”).  The movie therefore rests largely on the shoulders of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, but they are both more than up to the task, delivering their career best performances.  I’ve long been a fan of Cynthia Erivo ever since I first saw her in the excellent neo-noir thriller Bad Times at the El Royale, but here she does a superb job of conveying the many different facets of Elphaba’s character.  At the same time, Ariana-Grande-the-global-superstar does a fantastic job of completely disappearing into her role as Glinda, and while Cynthia Erivo is responsible for many of the film’s more emotional moments, Ariana Grande is responsible for countless laugh-out-loud moments, and demonstrates an unexpected talent for physical comedy (her hair-tossing has to be seen to be believed).

As good Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are, the supporting cast that the filmmakers have assembled around them is also top-notch.  Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh are particular standouts, playing the ‘Wonderful’ Wizard of Oz and Shiz University’s Dean of Sorcery respectively, while Jonathan Bailey excels in his highest-profile role so far, and Peter Dinklage makes a real impression in a relatively small voice role.

“…there’s plenty to get your teeth into under the fairytale veneer…”

Having not seen the stage play, I genuinely have no idea of what to expect from the second film, Wicked: For Good, that tells the second half of this story – but what did surprise me from this first part was just how much meat there is to some of the movie’s subtext.  The storyline touches on discrimination, prejudice and, perhaps most topical of all, ‘othering’ for political advantage – so there’s plenty to get your teeth into under the fairytale veneer, although it's all done in a very subtle way.

The film provides more than a few emotional punches, well-choreographed ensemble set-pieces, impressively performed songs, and interesting plot developments (for those who haven’t already seen the stage musical), so there’s plenty to entertain audiences new and old.