Wicked **
De Jon M. Chu
American film, 2:41
Take out your magic wands: the universe of Wizard of Oz returns to the big screen, with the anticipated adaptation of the musical Wicked. In the United States, this Broadway show, seen by 65,000 spectators in twenty-two years, is as cult as The Phantom of the Opera In France. On social networks and across the Atlantic, the film has already been received in a climate close to hysteria, and has raked in $112 million in revenue in ten days. In this promising first part – the second comes out in 2025 – director Jon M. Chu explores the origins of the witches in the land of Oz, a universe inspired by the book by Lyman Frank Baum (1900).
We are ten years before the arrival of Dorothy and her dog Toto in the fantastic world of Oz. At Shiz University where they study, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), who will become the Wicked Witch of the West, is ostracized because of her green skin, and Glinda (Ariana Grande), the future Good Witch of the South, is popular and privileged. Despite everything, the two young women form an unlikely friendship, but their relationship is undermined by events that plunge the land of Oz into turmoil.
Delicious acting
If we must remember one thing from this new adaptation, which sometimes overplays good feelings, it is the performances of the trio of main actors. In the skin of Elphaba, Cynthia Erivo sets the tone with her mastered cover of the emblematic Defying Gravity. Pop diva Ariana Grande surprises with her funny and fair playing and her vocal technique.
To give them the answer, the British Jonathan Bailey (The Bridgerton Chronicles) is not left out. Playing Prince Fiyero, he subtly catalyzes the romantic rivalry of the two young women and offers an enchanting musical number in a surprising moving library (Dancing Through Life). Despite some length, the 2 hours 40 minutes of film allow all the characters to gain depth, successfully breaking the Manichean cliché of good and evil.
An allegory of the rise of authoritarianism
Wicked does not offer any real innovations in terms of staging, but is overflowing with a certain energy. To blur the line between digital special effects and natural settings, director John M. Chu went to great lengths, planting thousands of tulips and fields of barley for certain scenes.
This musical comedy, which does not shy away from references to Wizard of Oz original, is also an allegory of the rise of authoritarianism. Animals, who, in the World of Oz, occupy the same position and jobs as humans, are – literally – reduced to silence by the powers that be. As Ariana Grande pointed out in a recent interview, the objective of this feature film is to “ providing refuge to those who feel different “. Bet successful.
No ! * Why not ** Good film *** Very good film **** Masterpiece
