Film Review: Even A Wicked Witch Has Beginning

Wicked was something I enjoyed more than I expected because fantasy musicals aren’t my usual bag when it comes to my cinematic indulgences. It’s probably not the greatest film I have seen, but there were some great displays of talent and spectacle here. It does the job of being pretty entertaining and interesting.

It’s based on a play, which was in turn based on a novel written by Gregory Maguire. Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox wrote the script with John M. Chu as director.

Cynthia Erivo is in the lead role as the green-skinned Elphaba Thropp, who is to become the legendary, evil Wicked Witch of the West. Ariana Grande is Glinda the Good Witch. Other cast members of note include Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, and Marissa Bode.

This is obviously a prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reveals the histories of Glinda and the Wicked Witch, who is apparently named Elphaba. They come across at a place called Shiz University where one of the courses offered is sorcery. Elphaba reveals that she has a powerful telekinetic ability which she cannot always control. She is convinced to enroll alongside her sister. Elphaba and Glinda have an amusingly rocky start to their friendship. There is some movement against talking animals, and Elphaba decides to rebel against the authorities and rescue a lion cub. This prompts an invitation from the Wizard so she can come visit him. Of course, there are darker motivations behind the generosity. Elphaba begins her journey down a dark path that causes denizens of Oz to fear her.

The visual effects are stunning. The musical numbers were pretty good, although a couple of them dragged on a bit longer than I would have preferred.

I was somewhat surprised by Ariana Grande’s comedic timing at times. She really seemed to be a perfect casting choice for the self-absorbed, sycophantic Glinda. Her character arc was handled pretty well. It was hard to really dislike Glinda in spite of some of her antics, but I rather think that was the point of her character.

Erivo handled her role quite well. I was impressed with her when I saw her in Harriet, so I was less surprised by her performance.

The sets were lavish and beautifully constructed. There is a lot of visual stimulation, but I was more impressed by the imagination and craftmanship than anything.

There were times that I felt the musical numbers got in the way of the story. That’s my only real criticism of this film.

Apparently, there is a second part to this story to be released, and I am hooked enough to see it.