Chicago

Chicago was a pretty big change of pace for cinema when it was released. Previously, Hollywood’s academy favorites were usually musicals, ones that had a stage-show almost vaudeville type style to them, as they populated the market and were highly successful with stars like Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers showing off their musical talents. As movie-making grew and styles evolved, those types of movies became outdated and faded from the limelight, although certain movies pushed to reinvigorate the genre, with this 2002 film being the one that got it back in the modern age. Set within 1920s Chicago, her dream of living the jazzy theatre lifestyle is crushed for aspiring performer Roxie Hart (played by Renee Zellweger) after she murders her scummy manager in a fit of rage. Thrown in prison with several other female inmates who killed in passion, things look desperate for Roxie as she’s set to be hanged in a few months time. Her only hope is the brilliant lawyer, Billy Flynn (played by Richard Gere) who has never lost a case and takes a liking to Roxie’s naïve demeanor and marketable appeal, transforming her into a troubled victim in the eyes of the press which causes her stardom to dramatically increase. As this is occurring, fellow inmate and previous theatre performer, Velma Kelly (played by Catherine Zeta Jones) wishes for the attention Roxie has earned and a competition sparks between the two for the eye of the press. As the trial comes closer and with other new inmates threatening to steal her image away, will Roxie be able to keep enough fame to keep her life? Chicago won big at the Academy Awards, taking home a total of six awards (including Best Picture) and it proved that a musical of its type could exist in the current age of Hollywood with the right handling, leading to movies like Hairspray, Sweeny Todd, Moulin Rouge and others.

The premise was originally based on two real unrelated court cases surrounding women who were suspected of murder. This led into a play in 1926 and then later a full-blown musical in 1975. Both took aspects from the event and satirized the commercialism and ironic fame mania that came from the event into producing a highly successful Broadway show that stayed popular for several decades. As a film, the transition from stage to film is actually pretty ingenious and the updates and format changes made to make it function as both a film and as a faithful version of said show, are effective at highlight the advantages of a stage-based musical, while staying true to being an actual film. With the success of the film version of Cabaret in 1972 showing a more grounded rendition of the grungier and gritty vaudeville musical, Chicago opts for less restrictions in its reality and allows its musical numbers to be disconnected from the main story as a means of going showier and flashier without disrupting the mood and tone already established. The basis for the story and the concept behind it is really interesting and actually works as a nice satire of Hollywood during that time period; a systematic cattle call for women with talent battling it out with each other trying to hold onto their selected fame through corporate puppeteering and glamorous scandals as opposed to being given a chance to show off their talents naturally. While it may not be as effective a script in regards to how to conveys traditional movie components which take a backseat against the spectacle, atmosphere and commentary, Bill Condon does still do a good job writing together this film to make it engaging, intriguing and very much its own thing. Not only does it surprisingly work very effectively as both a slightly light-hearted, but also mostly maturely handled plot, but it also works as a great time-capsule for a real-life period, the struggles and issues that came about for women of the time in gaining stardom on the stage feel genuine in its absurdity, and the overall genre of musical theatre feels defined through its physically-active musical numbers and grandiose personalities. It acts as a glorification of the genre while still functioning as a genuine and authentic portrayal.

Like how a good musical should act, the songs act as an extension to a basic three-act structure, allowing for different ways of establishing story, world and character through music and lyrics as opposed to exposition. Here, the songs manage to elaborate and give a great emphasis and detail of all the characters personalities just through a simple song. The characters in this feel like great representations of those within the performing industry at the time, as well as find that great tight rope walk of being enjoyably exaggerated in voice and design, but never coming across as too phoney or annoying, it feels glitzy and flashy, but authentic, which is what a star of that time period should feel like. It’s great having two different forms of stage actresses compete against each other for something that feels so selfish and rudimentary, especially since the conditions are far more severe than the movie plays it out to be. Both Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellweger perfectly captures both their parts and provide good foils for the other; Zeta Jones as the tougher more experienced performer with fears of being replaced, and Zellweger as the hopeful wanna-be actress who gets engrossed in the system and builds her way up. Side roles like Richard Gere and Queen Latifah fit in this environment and take pretty big archetypal roles and bring something fun and fresh to them. What isn’t fun or fresh is John C Reilly’s character in this; out of all the characters, he is the only one that is really annoying to watch. His presence offers nothing and whatever time is spent on him feels like wasted time away from the other characters who always felt like they were bringing more than what initially expected.

Even during post-production for this film, it had people at the helm that were quality choices for this type of movie. Even the casting aside, the previous director for this was going to be Bob Fosse (who previously worked on Cabaret) and his experience with musical theatre choreography helped that film out largely. After his death, the next choice for director was first-time director Rob Marshall, who worked on choreography previously, so his experience, along with Fosse’s jazzy style still remaining in the fabrics of the material, made for a spot-on rendition of the type of music the film was looking for. The music and songs for the film nicely encapsulate the glamour and passion that comes with those performances, with the actors getting into every action and lyric so forcefully that it leaves a great impression. Despite the songs not always being incredibly memorable on a lyrical basis, the presentations and choreography is so detailed, yet simplistic that they always stand out and make for great moments even though the movie comes close to being a little overstuffed with them by around the mid-way point. ‘They had it Coming’’ is a fantastic number with fantastic pacing, singing, music and gritty energy, ‘’All that Jazz’’ is a great opening with quick editing, memorable lyrics and a great performance from Zeta Jones and even an interview performance involving puppets and exaggerated choreography acts as a great metaphor and an entertaining number. The look of the movie is also very distinct in both the performance and real-life settings and thanks to the production design by John Myhre as well as the costume design by Colleen Atwood (both of whom won Oscars for their work on this film), it really feels like you’re in that time period, but with the harsh lighting, sepia-tone palette and 1920s aesthetic giving it a recognizable yet cinematically-altered feel. The musical numbers also have great staging, flashes of bright colors and a different form of energy and passion than the other scenes, its a great mix.

Chicago dazzles and brings light back to a once popular genre of movie making in a new yet familiar viewing experience, at least enough of one to make it a favorite for critics, beloved by the Academy and still looked back on fondly by audiences. It returned to an era with a different style and a different feel towards a standard musical, and that was translated into this movie with its look, its feel, its pacing, its acting and its music. It might not be a film that works for everybody (mainly those who don’t get into musicals in general), but much like how La La Land used an old musical format in the modern era in a clever way, this does the same in a less subtle manner, and its bound to have something that you’d get into. Decide for yourself and experience all that jazz in this long-beloved stage musical.