It’s quite a rare occurrence these days when a much-anticipated film actually lives up to all of its pre-release hype, but this screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical truly does so in every regard. Director Jon M. Chu has brilliantly brought to life the back story behind the lives and relationship of the two witches from the original L. Frank Baum novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and its 1939 classic screen adaptation, as well as Gregory Maguire’s 1995 prequel novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. In this stunningly beautiful and delightful big-screen production, viewers learn how the supposedly evil Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) came to know the purportedly Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande-Butera), sorcery students and college roommates whose relationship initially went through a series of changes from unabashed contempt to solid friendship. However, as high-level political intrigue unfolds in their homeland of the magical land of Oz – efforts clandestinely spearheaded by the supposedly all-powerful Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and university headmistress Mme. Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) – Elphaba and Glinda become unwittingly caught up in the high-stakes subterfuge playing out around them, a development that jeopardizes the future of their friendship and the stability of Oz itself. The filmmaker thus subtly but effectively presents audiences with a fable on the nature of good and evil, particularly in terms of what actually constitutes wickedness, especially when it’s skillfully veiled. The result is a thoughtful and thoroughly entertaining tale replete with stunning musical numbers, excellent choreography, ample humor, gorgeous cinematography, an inspired production design and superb performances by the four principals, all of whom are certain to be strong awards season candidates (quite a recommendation coming from someone who unapologetically makes no claim to being a fan of musicals). More than that, though, “Wicked” is an insightful treatise on the quest for power and learning how to make judicious use of it, both in personal dealings and in matters of wider consequence, a fitting cautionary tale for our times (or any time, for that matter). If I had any complaint here, it would be my concern that this is yet another example of a story that’s been divided up into two installments, a growing trend that I don’t believe will ultimately serve the movie industry well. According to the director, this was seen as a necessary step to do justice to the source material, given that it would have been nearly impossible to cram everything into one picture without doing major damage to the content. And, to give the filmmaker the benefit of the doubt, perhaps that will ultimately prove true with the release of part 2 in 2025 (but I’ll reserve judgment on that for the time being). In the meantime, though, this first part comes through as promised, and, in this day and age, that’s a cinematic miracle in itself.
