The whole world seems to know about the release of the newest musical theatre epic, Wicked: For Good. As a frequent viewer of the theatre show in the West End, I was extremely excited to see the ways in which John M. Chu expanded on the original musical.
So, how do I feel about the film itself?
Despite the difficulties of adaptation, I was overall feeling content as I walked out of the cinema (covered in pink and green of course).
I have absolutely no criticism to give regarding Cynthia Erivo’s performance; her vocals are excellent, which is not surprising given she is one of the only individuals to win both a Grammy, Tony and Emmy. Her performance is enough to bring me to tears during No Good Deed and For Good. Cynthia, in my opinion, is the perfect choice to play Elphaba. She captures her powerful and angry moments, but also the more soft and vulnerable sides of her character.
Similarly, Ariana Grande’s performance is stunningly raw and emotionally charged. My personal standout moment from the musical has always been Glinda’s solo parts in Thank Goodness, and Ariana Grande exceeded my expectations in her commitment to this role. It was so wonderful to see her acting skills come through. Not only could pull off the witty and playful humour of Glinda’s character, but also her more vulnerable and regretful moments which captured the duality of her emotions.
Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero? Amazing. Showstopping. Spectacular. No notes (need I say more? Just look at the trailers!)
The film also clearly outlines its themes of totalitarianism; Glinda and Elphaba representing opposite ends of a spectrum. Elphaba represents rebellion and resistance, whereas Glinda believes she is doing the most good by working within the system.
I have seen a lot of criticism regarding the film’s lighting. It could have benefited from a revamp in colour to be as bright as the original introduction to this world in the 1940s film. I had a similar issue with the costumes in For Good, especially Glinda’s outfits, as she remains in safe pastels throughout it. It could have been interesting to experiment with having Ariana Grande in tight fitting dresses in deeper pinks (bordering on red) at the beginning of For Good, to symbolise her compliance with the totalitarian regime. This would have further highlighted her status as a puppet to serve Madame Morrible. I felt that she had not truly earned the soft blue and the flowy ball gown style, usually used in film to symbolise tranquillity and peace.
There were other aspects that did not personally work well in translation from stage to screen. The run time of the entire stage musical is approximately two hours and forty-five minutes. In contrast, the second film alone is 137 minutes. Plot points which should have been more of a focus did not end up making sense. For example, as much as I loved the comedic fight scene between Glinda and Elphaba,, wouldn’t it have made more sense to cut this back in favour of more scenes showing a guilty Fiyero? Also, the wedding sequence itself was unnecessary. It painted Fiyero as a man who literally left his fiancée at the altar for a woman he has not spoken to in over a year. These are just a few examples of personal issues that could have been easily resolved by prioritising character over spectacle.
Overall, I really liked Wicked: For Good as a whole. The high points of the film are enough to make me forget about the inconsistencies in character. My opinions on costume and lighting are more of nitpicks than anything else.
The reason why this sequel and the first instalment are so well loved and respected is due to the amount of love emanating from the cast and crew. The creatives involved in this clearly love this story as much as the die-hard musical fans.
