From 11/17/2024 press screening:
“Are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”
The movie opens with a musical celebration, but is not for the reason you may think. Oz is awash in pastels and sweeping vistas of the yellow brick road, rainbow field of tulips, colorful village with wildflower-adorned thatch huts. The villagers are mesmerized by the arrival of Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande). Holding a magic wand inside a floating bubble, Glinda tells them about the fate of the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo).
Then Glinda's memory flashes back, revealing the untold story between her, formerly named Galinda, and the Wicked Witch, Elphaba, when they were students at the Schiz University. The palatial school has elegant stone columns with cascading flowers and chic canals, bordered by sea cliffs, verdant forest and golden meadow.
The eldest daughter of the governor, Elphaba was born with a green skin and extraordinary powers. Rejected by her parents from birth, she grows up as an outcast. While her parents end up having a normal-looking, younger daughter in a wheelchair, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), the familial relationship doesn't get better due to an even more tragic reason.
While pretty, popular and pink-preoccupied Galinda instantly becomes the most popular among her peers on the first day of school, predictably, that day, and the days after, aren't going well for misunderstood Elphaba. Growing up the way she did, Elphaba seems to be used to the unfavorable, unwanted attention though. While there's simmering umbrage, surprisingly, she looks relatively comfortable and confident in her own green skin.
When Elphaba causes an incident with her mysterious ability, she attracts the attention of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh, “Crazy Rich Asians”), the magical arts professor. Morrible is very impressed by Elphaba and takes her under her wing.
While Elphaba thinks of her quirk as something to suppress or hide, Morrible recognizes her super talent and believes that if Elphaba could learn to harness her emotions the right way, she could channel her powers for good. Coincidentally, Galinda, not only aspiring to be perennially popular, aims to learn sorcery and get tutored by Morrible.
Due to a comedy of errors, Galinda and Elphaba become an accidental roommate. Talk about opposite sides. Frilly frocks and flamboyant versus utilitarian and substance. The entrance of Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) as a love interest complicates the relationships. A musical number in the library atop books and tables, and along rotating ladders inside a giant clock-like wall space, is a standout.
Things come to a head when even Galinda realizes she went too far and witnesses the painful influence of her action, and everyone's whispering and laughing at Elphaba. Elphaba is human and feels hurt. Thankfully, this is a turning point of their relationship, which begins to shift toward friendship. The vocal-and dance performance that follows is emotional and impactful.
Grande adds dimensions into her bubbly role, fluctuating from shallow and self-absorbed to supportive, conflicted and tempted by power. Erivo is a powerhouse, conveying a deep range of emotions both subtly and powerfully.
When Elphaba receives a solo invite from the Wizard of Oz to meet him, she invites Galinda to hop onboard the retrofuturistic train to Emerald City with her.
Ensconced in the gleaming green palace, the Wizard is worshipped by all citizens for his purported powers. Even though he turns out to be a man (Jeff Goldblum, “Jurassic World Dominion”), it seems that he fulfills the prophecy as the all-mighty who enters the skies in a hot air balloon and falls into the land of Oz.
When The Wizard wants to grant Elphaba's her true desire, Elphaba discovers something deeper inside of her and it's not for the chance to be normal. She wants the Wizard to help her find what's going on with with animals losing their voices and ability to talk, and gone missing at school and in town.
When the truth comes out, Elphaba and Galinda are faced with impossibly tough choices. At perilous crossroad, their friendship is tested beyond limit, and the choices they make will change their lives and the people around them forever.
Power-propelled propaganda corrupts and controls people. It's scary to see how easily people can be manipulated en masse with a twist of the narrative.
This is a story about an outsider trusting her instinct and coming into her own power, charting her path to do the right thing, even when the odds are not in her favor. The penultimate scenes are visually spellbinding, with powerful poses and flying freely across the skies at sunset. It ends with a chillingly empowering ending.
The movie has a lavish production, powerhouse acting, great musical numbers, feast of visuals, striking vocals and sound. It's a regal Broadway show on a silver screen. If part 2 is anything like part 1, it will be worth the wait.
Evoking fantasy and wonder grander in scale than the "Oz: The Great and Powerful"), “Wicked” is wickedly wondrous.
