Whilst its central character Elphaba is demonised for her green skin that doesn’t fit in, Wicked’s visual style does nothing to stand out. However, the adaptation of the hit West End/Broadway musical wins you over with its sheer charm. The film has been marketed as one of the biggest of the year, with Universal making it physically impossible to not be aware that the film is coming out if not this weekend, in the not-too-distant future. Whilst it has broken the bank in marketing budget, the film is led by two actors who aren’t that well versed in films, but rather have been cast for their voices. Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, whilst Ariana Grande plays Glinda the Good Witch of the North in this Ozian prequel.
The film opens with the declaration of the death of Elphaba. There is a celebration in Munchkinland at the death of the Wicked Witch of the West, a great euphoria. Glinda, played as glitzy and self-important by Ariana Grande arrives to begin the festivities, when someone asks her – weren’t you friends at one point. Glinda states their paths crossed, but doesn’t admit they were close.
It then flashes back as Glinda and Elphaba meet at Chiz University, a hybrid between Hogwarts, Venice, and the musical planet from The Marvels. Glinda arrives as a spoilt brat in the model of Mean Girls or Heathers, where she stumbles across Elphaba whose garish green takes the attention away from Glinda, accidentally causing a scene when she can levitate and move things with magic to create destruction when she is unable to control her actions. This captures the eyes of Chiz’s Head of Sorcery, Madame Morrible, played by Michelle Yeoh, who agrees to train Elphaba, much to the discontent of her new roommate Glinda as they must learn to get along in each other’s company.
Wicked is unabashedly like a West End show in its presentation, as these two polar opposites of green and pink begin to attract to one another. It is full of numbers with ensemble singing and intricate blocking. It is the most I’ve ever felt as if I’m watching a show on the stage that happens to have more intricate sets and not the constraints of a small area to work with. However, from this, there isn’t a huge amount that uses the advantages of the film medium to be actively creative. Although there are a couple of outliers, for the most part, this is shot as if the performers are playing to the camera, and it is often contained to static or sweeping shots.
There isn’t much that is new or different as a film musical and it struggles without the intimacy of watching a live performance. The film also lacks a visual identity, stuck between modern CGI and MGM nostalgia, which creates a visually muddy image. Yet, the film is still able to sweep you up in warm performances and heartfelt narratives that will make even the coldest hearts crease a smile.
Whilst it is visually beige, Wicked is full of thematic layers of dictatorship and racial prejudice, using Elphaba’s green skin as a placeholder for otherness, as the film says at one point she is obscene and unnaturally green. However, the film also shows the hypocrisy of colour by contrasting the green of Elphaba’s skin with the green of the Emerald City. The presentation of racial prejudice and oppression however is not subtle and at times ham-fisted. These ideas come in fleeting waves rather than being a rounded whole. Slapping you over the face with preachy speeches, however, perhaps this may be for the best, as the most effective way of conveying its message to its younger demographic.
What is most disappointing however is the visual look of the film. Especially as The Wizard of Oz is this magnum opus of colour, THE Technicolour film, as Dorothy steps out of the sepia of Kansas into the deeply saturated and larger-than-life colours of Oz. However, in Wicked, it is Oz that feels like Earth, it is a hazy wash of off-white colours that feels in direct contrast to the vibrancy of its source material. At one point there is a scene on a cliff face that feels like it’s the white cliffs of Dover, not the mesmerising world of Oz. Likewise, at 160 minutes, the runtime certainly feels weighty, and whilst there is not a huge amount that is baggage, the film is potentially trying to cover too much ground in what it's trying to achieve, leaving it cluttered and messy. Not helped by a visual style that makes jaw-dropping sets feel ugly by what looks like it is overlaid by CGI and a very poor colour grade that makes the film feel like a live-action Disney film in its desaturated and flat lighting.
Nevertheless, the film is perfectly cast with great feel-good performances. At the centre are two great performances in Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who alleviate any of the other negatives that the film has. Whilst Cynthia Erivo is the centre of the film with a strong, nuanced and assured performance it is Ariana Grande who steals the show. I was completely surprised by the performance which is physically comic, soft-spoken, slightly annoying and feels just perfect for the role. Together, however, their chemistry gives the film another dimension of goodwill and kindness, almost imitating a Paddington sensibility at times.
Overall, I wasn’t overly wowed by Wicked, mostly due to its bland and upsettingly dull visual style, it has enough charm in its skin to will me into enjoying the film. It will undoubtedly be a hit for Universal and a charmer for audiences, in what feels like a faithful take on a stage musical.
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