Two Witches Take an Unlikely Friendship Towards Destiny

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in "Wicked"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

In 1995, author Gregory Maguire wrote the first novel in his “Wicked Years” series, “Wicked,” which told the story of the early life of the “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” main villain, the Wicked Witch of the West.  Filled with elements both fantastical and political, the novel delivered a detailed backstory to one of children literature’s most enduring classics, albeit with more of an adult audience in mind.

Then, in 2003, playwright Winnie Holzman brought Maguire’s story to the Broadway stage with music and lyrics from the legendary Stephen Schwartz.  With eye-popping sets, colorful costumes, iconic songs, and an engaging friendship at the center of the story, it’s not hard to figure out why the show has lasted for as long as it has.  To this day, it’s the only Broadway musical that I’ve seen twice.

Now, 21 years later, “Wicked” comes to the big screen with part one of a two-part adaptation.  Boasted by exuberant direction from Jon M. Chu, lavish technical achievements, and a perfect duo of lead performances, “Wicked: Part One” gives the long-running musical the cinematic treatment that such an epic, humorous, and emotional story deserves.

Before the events of “The Wizard of Oz,” the Wicked Witch of the West was just Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), a student enrolled at the prestigious Shiz University.  While there, she meets Glinda Upland (Ariana Grande), who’ll later become the Good Witch of the North.  While they couldn’t be more different at the start, the two eventually develop a friendship that will put them on a course towards a fate that neither could’ve imagined.

Erivo delivers a beautiful performance as Elphaba, exhibiting someone who has gone through her whole life being ridiculed for circumstances beyond her control, but showing an ability to let the gawking and insults roll off of her and know how to handle the derision.  She brings out someone who knows what she’s capable of during her joyous rendition of “The Wizard and I,” but is also aware of her limitations with the quietly sad “I’m Not That Girl.”  There’s a hopefulness and poignancy that Erivo brings to her character that presents Elphaba as someone who wants to find her place in the world, a world that seems to not want anything to do with her.  With that, Erivo masters Elphaba’s emotional evolution that culminates in her triumphant rendition of the film’s closing song, “Defying Gravity,” a sequence that perfectly sets the stage for what’s to come for Erivo’s turn as the Wicked Witch of the West. 

For Grande as Glinda, there couldn’t have been a better choice for someone who can exhibit the bubbly, queen-bee persona of this character.  Grande delivers one of the most fun performances of the year, portraying someone who’s the total opposite of her co-lead.  She floats and gently glides through her performance, bursting with life and relishing the chance to bring this character to the big screen.  With her character’s signature scene being when she sings “Popular” in trying to give Elphaba a makeover, you see the absolute charm and humor that Grande brings to her portrayal of Glinda, showing an actress who’s having an absolute ball with a role that’s a perfect match of actress and character.  In the middle of all of Glinda’s pep, Grande also instills moments of warmth and understanding with her character as she starts to bond with Elphaba, adding some true emotion to Glinda that will have a significant impact in the second film.

As a leading pair, Erivo and Grande dig into the wit of their characters’ initial opposition, such as in the musical number “What Is This Feeling?,” and the dramatic apex of their arc with “Defying Gravity.”  Both actresses portray their characters to full emotional and comedic heights that create a tremendous dynamic that pairs well with the grandness of the sets and visual effects that we see on screen.  Between their talents in singing and acting, Erivo and Grande make every moment of their shared screen time soar as they transition from bitter enemies to best friends.

Jonathan Bailey, who plays Prince Fiyero Tigelaar, a transfer student and love interest of Glinda, brings an abundance of suaveness to his role.  In his song, “Dancing Through Life,” Bailey is the very definition of the life of the party as he encourages his fellow classmates to toss away all of their cares and instead have a night of revelry at the bustling Ozdust Ballroom.

Other entertaining supporting performances include Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the Dean of Sorcery at Shiz; Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz; Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Elphaba’s little sister; Ethan Slater as Boq Woodsman, a Munchkin and Shiz student who’s in love with Glinda; and Peter Dinklage as the voice of Dr. Dillamomd, a talking goat who’s a history professor at Shiz.  All of these cast members inhibit the humor and/or drama that their characters need, adding their own little bit of color to a movie that’s already overflowing with it.

The screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox captures the strong character dynamics just as in-depth as the show and the novel.  While Maguire’s book goes deeper into the social and political problems facing Oz compared to the Broadway adaptation, Holzman and Fox’s script maintains the show’s balance between the “Wizard of Oz” sense of whimsy and the darker themes of the novel, without having the latter feel like it’s been watered down, thereby crafting a story that could be appreciated by both children and adults.  Despite the movie being two and half hours, which is just about the length of the full Broadway show, the runtime is more than justified.  It allows us to take in the world of Shiz University and Oz and the characters that inhabit those settings, while also further exploring the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda, which will face bigger challenges in part two.  

Chu, who directed the film adaptations of the Broadway musical “In the Heights” and the novel “Crazy Rich Asians,” knows how to utilize expansive sets and colorful visuals to immerse his audiences in his storytelling.  Just as he did with “In the Heights,” Chu shows his talents for filming complex musical sequences, this time using sets that are even more intricate and working well with special effects to bring Shiz and Oz to its full vibrancy.  Right from the opening scene of “No One Mourns the Wicked,” it’s clear that Chu is going to capture the full cinematic potential of this musical.  He re-teams with “In the Heights” cinematographer and editor, Alice Brooks and Myron Kerstein, respectively, to create song-and-dance sequences that deliver on the drama and spectacle of the Broadway show.  Each musical number is made with the utmost care to make it come alive on screen, ensuring that people who have experienced this story on Broadway will feel like they’re seeing the show again for the first time.

Chu and his accomplished cast and crew have gifted us a superb musical that will surely amp up the excitement for part two, “Wicked: For Good,” which is scheduled for release on November 21, 2025.  With the “Wizard of Oz” stories that have been told through books, film, and Broadway, “Wicked: Part One” now has a place in a legacy that’s as long as the yellow brick road.

Grade: A

Without Words, a Universal Message

"Flow"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

When it comes to animation, presenting a story without dialogue can make it that much more impactful.  While it doesn’t happen that much these days, we’ve had some superb examples of wordless storytelling over the last couple of decades in the animation genre.  In the moments when animation deals with non-human characters, it’s easier to give yourself over to such a story that’s told in that form of the medium, as it somehow seems to fit.  Walt Disney Feature Animation did this with the opening sequence of “Dinosaur”; Pixar has done it with their animated shorts and the opening third of “WALL-E”; and, a few months ago, we got the latest example with writer-director Pablo Berger’s masterful “Robot Dreams,” an animated feature that didn’t have any dialogue, but was able to convey a humorous and poignant story nonetheless.  It was the latest testament to what animation can do with just the power of its images.

Now, Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis accomplishes such a storytelling feat with his film “Flow.”  Bringing us wonderful animation and a beautiful narrative about survival, Zilbalodis delivers one of the best films of the year and THE best animated film of the year.

In a world that’s in ruins from an environmental disaster, a black cat, a Labrador Retriever, a capybara, a secretary bird, and a ring-tailed lemur try to stay alive as they traverse dangerous terrains.

Since there isn’t any dialogue, the animators did superb work in making the animals as expressive as possible.  Through the use of actual animalistic noises (which were recorded by sound designer Gurwal Coïc-Gallas) and the way the characters interact with each other, both in subtle and direct ways, you can see what’s going through their minds as they attempt to navigate a world that poses several deadly threats.  Without the animals talking, we’re encouraged to pay even closer attention to them as we watch and analyze their body language in the quieter moments and the bond between the five of them deepens.

The screenplay by Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža may seem simple on the surface, but they offer many layers to a story about these unlikely friends and what they do to survive.  Every scene brings a new danger or a new character, leaving you absorbed in how this adventure will unfold.  With the story taking place in an unspecified country, this allows for the screenwriters to include animals from different parts of the world and incorporate a universality to the film’s message by having these species group together.  There are so many things that the writers allow us to read into and ponder the meaning of, leaving it solely up to the images instead of dialogue to get their points across, and the screenplay is all the more meaningful for it because of the chance to let us meditate on everything.

As a director, Zilbalodis makes sure that his animation stands out from what we usually see these days.  While most animated films typically use the most up-to-date 3D computer animation, this movie was constructed on an open-source software program called Blender.  The animals and environments are three-dimensional, but not in the glossy way that we see in most modern animation, but that’s not a complaint.  What we do see is something that shows you what can be done in animation without the biggest and brightest tools.  Here, we see the hard work that went into putting this movie entirely on the software.  The way in which Zilbalodis creates the visuals sweeps us away every bit as much as what you would see in any Pixar movie.  Between the movements of the animals and the details of the environments through which they travel, Zilbalodis keeps viewers invested in the adventure as we travel through forests, sail on rising waters, and visit crumbling civilizations.  During the film, Zilbalodis employs many single takes as he brings us across the different terrains of the film, allowing us to feel absorbed in the settings as we walk, run, swim, and fly with the characters.  Through all of this, he maintains an enchanting, yet tense tone that has us entertained by this unlikely fellowship, but also fearing for their survival.

Through its engaging visuals and minimalist, yet impactful sorry, “Flow” is a wordless movie that speaks volumes.

Grade: A

More Than Two Decades Later, Ridley Scott Takes Us Back to the Arena

Paul Mescal in "Gladiator II"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

In 2000, director Ridley Scott gave moviegoers a brutal and emotional historical epic with “Gladiator,” starring Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a general-turned-gladiator who fights to avenge his family’s death.  This was made-for-the-big-screen filmmaking for which Scott had become known, and with a powerful lead performance, a sweeping story, and intense battle scenes, Scott delivered one of the most iconic movies of the 2000s and remains one of his most notable.

Now, nearly a quarter of a century later, Scott brings us back to Rome with his long-gestating sequel, “Gladiator II.”  Despite some good performances and the director’s knack for mammoth cinema being very much on full display, this continuation comes up fairly short of Scott’s enduring modern classic.

Sixteen years after the death of Marcus Aurelius, his grandson, Lucius Verus Aurelius (Paul Mescal), has been living in the North African kingdom of Numidia after his home was invaded.  Following a defeat in battle, Lucius is enslaved and taken as a slave to flight as a gladiator in Rome, which is ruled by the tyrannical twin emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).

While it’s difficult to perform in the shadow left by Crowe, Mescal does what he can to provide a performance of grit as someone who’s forced to fight for his freedom.  He has the physicality that Crowe brought to his role as Maximus, showing a commitment to performing the ferocity of the gladiatorial fights and exhibiting a spirit built on valor that’s needed in order to survive.  As Mescal has shown in movies like “God’s Creatures,” “Aftersun,” and “All of Us Strangers,” he’s proven to be a capable dramatic actor, and when the story gives him a little bit of depth with which to work, his talent shines through.

Just like Mescal, even though there’s not much to the characters on the page, the supporting performers still try to make something out of what’s given to them.  There’s Denzel Washington, who brings his infallible charisma as Macrinus, Lucius’ mentor; Pedro Pascal as Acacius, a conflicted army general; Connie Nielsen returns as Lucius’ mother, Lucilla, who tries to maintain her strength in the middle of arduous political strife; Quinn and Hechinger as bloodthirsty rulers; and Alexander Karim as Ravi, a gladiator-turned-doctor for wounded fighters.

The screenplay by David Scarpa offers some enticing political intrigue that adds a little bit of depth to the characters, but for several of them, you really don’t feel like you get to learn much about them that sticks out.  With the first “Gladiator,” you spent much of the first third getting to know the characters after the opening battle sequence and before Maximus gets enslaved as a gladiator.  Here, the narrative goes into the gladiatorial fights not long after the film’s big opening, as if assuming the viewers will be impatient to get to that aspect of the story.

Even though none of the character arcs are fleshed out, and without giving away plot details, it’s clear that the one involving Acacius and Lucilla had the most potential and should’ve been the main plot of the story, instead of the movie trying to follow a lot of the same beats as the first film.  When you have a big-scale historical epic such as this, you need characters who are as grand and layered as the setting they inhabit, and what we saw in that in terms of the 2000 film unfortunately doesn’t carry over to this film.  Given the 24-year wait for this sequel, we should’ve had a story worthy of the wait, one that can match the emotional impact of the original.  Unfortunately, that part of the original’s magic is missing.

Ever since the original “Gladiator,” Scott continued with a string of epics like “Kingdom of Heaven,” “Robin Hood,” “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” “The Last Duel,” and last year’s “Napoleon.”  While the quality amongst these films was very inconsistent, it’s hard to deny the work ethic that Scott exhibits in bringing these stories to life.  Despite some very shaky visual effects throughout “Gladiator II,” Scott still brings out the craftsmanship that we’ve come to expect from him.  Assisting with this is John Mathieson, who has provided the cinematography for several of Scott’s films, including the original “Gladiator” (which was his first collaboration with the director) and offers his typically grand camerawork to transport us away back to this era.  Scott and Mathieson do well with the grand views of battle in the opening sequence, while also delivering imposing, yet stunning views from inside the Colosseum.  Even though the story is the weakest part of the film, the movie is somewhat redeemed by the thrilling, epic-scale imagery of the gladiatorial fights.  Mathieson has worked with Scott for over two decades, and it’s clear that  they still have a strong partnership when it comes to making their technical ambitions evident on screen.

Scott remains one of today’s notable big-name directors, so it’s easy to understand the irresistible feeling of wanting to see a long-awaited sequel to one of his most popular films.  It has its ups and downs, and while the emperor gives his thumbs up or down to determine the fate of a gladiator, you’ll probably find yourself bringing it halfway.

Grade: B-