Chicago
3.5/4
Starring: Renee Zellwegger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Christine Baranski, Dominic West, Colm Feore
Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content and Dialogue, Violence, and Thematic Elements
With the media circuses revolving around OJ Simpson and Casey Anthony, "Chicago" seems less and less of a satire and more of a reflection of real life. Granted, I'm sure no one sang and danced at either trial, but if you see the movie, you'll get my point. This is a story of how you don't need to prove your client is innocent, you just need to dazzle them with some impressive showmanship and use the media to your advantage.
Roxie Hart (Zellwegger) is a meek housewife who longs to be a star. A man she knows, Fred Casely (West) tells her he has connections in show business and she's so enthralled by him that she has an affair with him. But it turns out that he was stringing her along just so he could sleep with her. In a fit of rage, Roxie shoots him and and ends up on Murderess Row under the watchful eye of Matron "Mamma" Morton (Latifah). Also there is Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones), a vaudeville star who shot her sister and husband when she found them in bed together. Roxie is threatened with the noose, but Mamma Morton has a solution...for a price. She'll call Billy Flynn (Gere), a hotshot lawyer who has never lost a case, to defend her. But Velma also has Billy as her counsel, and Billy only cares about the client that's in the spotlight. Now the battle lines are drawn, and the prize is the spotlight. And their necks.
The acting is excellent. All the actors fully submerge themselves in their characters, and everyone has an excellent singing voice. Zellwegger, who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance here, is terrific as the starry-eyed Roxie. She's naiive, but learns quickly how to manipulate the press. Of course, that leads her to believing her own hype. Catherine Zeta-Jones earned an Oscar for playing Velma, and it's earned. Velma is a typical star (or at least the stereotype of one). She can capture everyone's love on stage, but she's really a cynical, egotistical bitch. But beneath the ego and the hype is a lonely and frightened woman. Richard Gere plays Billy Flynn, a role not so similar to the one he played in "Primal Fear." Billy loves the spotlight, and money of course, but the spotlight is the real prize. Billy doesn't prove anything and knows it. He just has to put on a good show, and that's where his real talent lies. There's a clip during his song, "We Both Reached For the Gun" where he's controlling the press who have turned into marionettes. That's Billy.
Also important are Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly. As Mamma Morton, Latifah shines. She has a great singing voice, and acts motherly to those who can afford to bribe her. It's a great performance that earned her a much deserved Oscar nomination (she should have been nominated for "Set it Off" as well, but better late than never). John C. Reilly made himself a star as the much put-upon simpleton Amos Hart, Roxie's husband. Of all the cast members, no one is more sympathetic than him. He's been cast aside by all the press and hype...and by Roxie and Billy, despite the fact that he's spent everything to pay Billy's fee. His song "Mister Cellophane" is the perfect descriptor of him. Reilly is a great character actor, and this role should have gotten him an Oscar...he's that good.
Director Rob Marshall, a Broadway director, makes a stunning debut with "Chicago." He opens up the setting by using the stage sets as inspiration. I've seen the Broadway musical in New York City, and it's obvious that Marshall kept the same sets, but uses the real thing. For example, the song "He Had It Comin'," sung by the residents of Murderess Row, is set on in the prison, but it still has the dancing women behind bars. There are many stirring sequences like this one, and Marshall directs them with energy and dazzling camerawork. Acclaimed cinematographer Dion Beebe should have gotten an Oscar for his efforts here, but he wasn't nominated (he won four years later for Rob Marshall's next film, "Memoirs of a Geisha").
This is one musical that I can actually say is an improvement over its source material. There's nothing like seeing a great musical on Broadway in New York City, but Marshall's film, while not flawless, is a truly amazing movie. Biting satire, great performances and a half dozen truly amazing songs, "Chicago" is indeed a great time at the movies.
Starring: Renee Zellwegger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Christine Baranski, Dominic West, Colm Feore
Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content and Dialogue, Violence, and Thematic Elements
With the media circuses revolving around OJ Simpson and Casey Anthony, "Chicago" seems less and less of a satire and more of a reflection of real life. Granted, I'm sure no one sang and danced at either trial, but if you see the movie, you'll get my point. This is a story of how you don't need to prove your client is innocent, you just need to dazzle them with some impressive showmanship and use the media to your advantage.
Roxie Hart (Zellwegger) is a meek housewife who longs to be a star. A man she knows, Fred Casely (West) tells her he has connections in show business and she's so enthralled by him that she has an affair with him. But it turns out that he was stringing her along just so he could sleep with her. In a fit of rage, Roxie shoots him and and ends up on Murderess Row under the watchful eye of Matron "Mamma" Morton (Latifah). Also there is Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones), a vaudeville star who shot her sister and husband when she found them in bed together. Roxie is threatened with the noose, but Mamma Morton has a solution...for a price. She'll call Billy Flynn (Gere), a hotshot lawyer who has never lost a case, to defend her. But Velma also has Billy as her counsel, and Billy only cares about the client that's in the spotlight. Now the battle lines are drawn, and the prize is the spotlight. And their necks.
The acting is excellent. All the actors fully submerge themselves in their characters, and everyone has an excellent singing voice. Zellwegger, who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance here, is terrific as the starry-eyed Roxie. She's naiive, but learns quickly how to manipulate the press. Of course, that leads her to believing her own hype. Catherine Zeta-Jones earned an Oscar for playing Velma, and it's earned. Velma is a typical star (or at least the stereotype of one). She can capture everyone's love on stage, but she's really a cynical, egotistical bitch. But beneath the ego and the hype is a lonely and frightened woman. Richard Gere plays Billy Flynn, a role not so similar to the one he played in "Primal Fear." Billy loves the spotlight, and money of course, but the spotlight is the real prize. Billy doesn't prove anything and knows it. He just has to put on a good show, and that's where his real talent lies. There's a clip during his song, "We Both Reached For the Gun" where he's controlling the press who have turned into marionettes. That's Billy.
Also important are Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly. As Mamma Morton, Latifah shines. She has a great singing voice, and acts motherly to those who can afford to bribe her. It's a great performance that earned her a much deserved Oscar nomination (she should have been nominated for "Set it Off" as well, but better late than never). John C. Reilly made himself a star as the much put-upon simpleton Amos Hart, Roxie's husband. Of all the cast members, no one is more sympathetic than him. He's been cast aside by all the press and hype...and by Roxie and Billy, despite the fact that he's spent everything to pay Billy's fee. His song "Mister Cellophane" is the perfect descriptor of him. Reilly is a great character actor, and this role should have gotten him an Oscar...he's that good.
Director Rob Marshall, a Broadway director, makes a stunning debut with "Chicago." He opens up the setting by using the stage sets as inspiration. I've seen the Broadway musical in New York City, and it's obvious that Marshall kept the same sets, but uses the real thing. For example, the song "He Had It Comin'," sung by the residents of Murderess Row, is set on in the prison, but it still has the dancing women behind bars. There are many stirring sequences like this one, and Marshall directs them with energy and dazzling camerawork. Acclaimed cinematographer Dion Beebe should have gotten an Oscar for his efforts here, but he wasn't nominated (he won four years later for Rob Marshall's next film, "Memoirs of a Geisha").
This is one musical that I can actually say is an improvement over its source material. There's nothing like seeing a great musical on Broadway in New York City, but Marshall's film, while not flawless, is a truly amazing movie. Biting satire, great performances and a half dozen truly amazing songs, "Chicago" is indeed a great time at the movies.
Comments
Post a Comment