Posts Tagged ‘Cynthia Erivo’

Wicked Part One

Director: Jon M. Chu

Cast: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Peter Dinklage

Running Time: 2 hours 40 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights director Jon M. Chu lands cinematic gold, with his dazzling interpretation of the hit broadway musical Wicked about the origins of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz.

Wicked Part 1 is a stunningly beautiful and bold interpretation of a fantasy tale about the origins of a witch. In this case it is the absolutely brilliant Oscar worthy performance of Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Widows) who plays Elphaba alongside British pop star Ariana Grande who is fabulous and very pink as Galinda complete with sparkling shoes, handbags and enough accessories to make any teenage girl envious.

Set within the broader Wizard of Oz universe, Glinda and Elphaba meet at University before they both become witches but unfortunately they are at odds with each other. Glinda is blonde and beautiful, vain and popular whereas Elphaba is green and is in some sense a social pariah, a product of an illicit affair that her mother had in which Elphaba was born bright green like the sparkling Emerald City.

Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (Everything, Everywhere all at Once) plays Madame Morrible as the mistress of magic at the University where both aspiring witches are studying. All is not well in the land when the talking animals are being ostracized and then Galinda is completely distracted by the arrival of the dashing man on a horse Fiyero, wonderfully played with sufficient panache by Fellow Travellers star Jonathan Bailey.

Elphaba tries to become popular while struggling with her own self-acceptance. Cynthia Erivo, besides her superb singing is really an extraordinary actress and suitably well cast in the role of the singing and flying witch.

Wicked Part One is a dazzling film, complete fantasy liberally peppered with fantastic songs and stunning dance numbers. If you are a musical theatre producer or a choreographer then go and see this musical.

As a psychedelic fantasy musical, Wicked Part One is extraordinary with lavish production design by Nathan Crowley who also deserves an Oscar nomination along with the costume designer Paul Tazewell. The pair really go to town with the amazing sets and incredible costumes especially in the glittering Emerald City.

As Elphaba and Galinda travel on a sleek emerald train to the Emerald City to see the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, they soon discover that the wily wizard is not as noble as one might anticipate. Enter the veteran actor Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, The Grand Budapest Hotel) who steals the scene as the industrialist like Wizard who soon discovers Elphaba’s real power.

The songs are amazing, the costumes and sets are spectacular but at two and half hours long there were some sections the director could have cut.

What makes Wicked Part One such an enjoyable film is the performance of Cynthia Erivo, she really takes the iconic role of the Wicked Witch of the West and moulds it into something formidable, a fascinating story of how a young awkward girl transforms into a witch hated and ostracized by the Land of Oz. Society will do that to a perceived outcast.

Lavish, loud and beautifully orchestrated Wicked Part One is recommended viewing and gets a film rating of 8 out of 10.

Suitable for fans of fantasy musicals and those that have a spare two and half hours to kill exploring the yellow brick road.

Widows

Director: Steve McQueen

Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Jacki Weaver, Daniel Kaluuya, Robert Duvall, Jon Bernthal, Carrie Coon, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Brian Tyree Henry, Garrett Dillahunt, Cynthia Erivo

In a labyrinth tale which at times is difficult to follow, 12 Years a Slave and Shame director Steve McQueen weaves a tangled web in the contemporary Chicago crime drama Widows featuring an outstanding ensemble cast including a brilliant Viola Davis, Oscar winner for Fences, Oscar nominees Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) as a ruthless hitman, Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) as a pushy Polish mother along with Oscar winner Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies) as Colin Farrell’s hectic father Tom Mulligan.

What sets Widows apart is that McQueen frames the film as a gritty more complex version of Oceans 8 with pivotal roles for Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki (The Tale) and Michelle Rodriguez as three widowed woman who decided to band together and conspire to do a heist to rob from alderman Mulligan played by Colin Farrell who is in a turf war with his contestant a rising African-American politician Jamal Manning played by Brian Tyree Henry (Hotel Artemis).

Daniel Kaluuya plays the insanely evil and vindictive younger brother Jatemme Manning who feels nothing as he tortures a snitch in a wheelchair or makes victims sing before executing them at point blank range.

Director Steve McQueen frames every shot with a keen eye for detail especially the excellent scenes with Viola Davis as she comes to terms with her husband and thief Harry Rawlings explosive demise, shot in a series of intimate flashbacks scenes made more poignant that action star Liam Neeson plays the street savvy thief Rawlings.

What Widows does offer is a sophisticated treatment of contemporary American race relations, inner city corruption, poverty and crime of which there is plenty in this film.

McQueen lets certain scenes linger too long while allowing others to be cut so short that their explosive nature is electrifying. Where he is excels is at is controlling this massive and diverse ensemble cast.

Veteran star Robert Duvall has a fairly major role as the paternal Trumpesque figure Tom Mulligan who is trying to retain his family’s supremacy in the political environment despite his son Jack’s dubious double dealing whose only achievement is offering dollar signs and empty promises.

Equally refreshing is to see Fast and Furious star Michelle Rodriguez in a more substantial role as she battles to keep her family together after her Latino husband Carlos, a briefly seen cameo by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo perishes in Rawling’s heist that goes terribly wrong.

Widows gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and has a massive twist which should keep audiences riveted in a sprawling crime drama held together by superb acting. Highly recommended viewing.