Wicked Part 1 captures the rebellious nature of the youth of today. But with the universally twisted notion of the wise and the wicked. The film begins with the enrolment in the wizard college in Oz, where we are shown a deeply hurt yet self-assured Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), who is treated like an outcast for her green complexion. She arrives only to enrol her paraplegic younger sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), but as fate would have it, she joins the college. Elphaba is joined by a ditsy and a validation-hungry Galinda/Glinda (Ariana Grande). A determined Elphaba gives her full focus to her studies, thinking that her mastery in witchcraft will remove the stigma on her, naive about the hideous plans the college is plotting.
With Wicked Part 1, Jon M Chu has redefined the notions of the evil witch and a good fairy princess. What works the most in the film is its shock value. Subsequent to the decades-long celebration of the noble Glinda the Good Witch of the North, who helps an innocent small girl, Dorothy Gale, the film throws a curious question: What if Glinda is not so good?” The second most enjoyable aspect of the film is its music and songs. Elphaba’s ‘The Wizard and I’ and Glinda’s ‘Popular’ effectively revealed their respective characteristics without wasting much time with exposition.
Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and Jonathan Bailey (playing Fiyero Tigelaar) looked perfect in their roles. Ariana’s Glinda Upland, earning our detestation, is a well-written character with organic situations that get her speciousness exposed.
Her becoming friends with Elphaba, changing her name from Glinda to Galinda, and diverting Boq Woodsman (Ethan Slater)’s attention towards Nessa, clearing her path to pursue Fiyero doesn’t just unravel her facade of goodness but also indicates the extents that she will go to keep her popularity intact. The devil-may-care attitude of Elphaba, carried by a confident Cynthia, is a major positive of the role.
We really root for her during her rare moments of weakness and fear. An otherwise sure-footed witch-to-be, Elphaba, when she tries to keep herself orientated amidst being treated with disdain, makes her endearing to us. Despite the minimal screen time of Fiyero, him being ashamed after Elphaba makes an assessment that his cheerfulness is a pretence, makes us excited to see where his malleability takes him in the next film.
Wicked Part 1 has strong dialogues. Take, for instance, Fiyero asking Elphaba why she always causes commotion, to which she responds, “I am the commotion” and the Wizard of Oz justifying the purgation of animals from the campus, saying, “The real good way to bring folks together is to give a real enemy.”
These lines were not just momentarily powerful but also underlined the film’s themes of prejudice, acceptance, and injustice. All these positives aside, the film, in its pursuit to upend notions of good and evil, proposes simplistic notions of morality. With that alone being a noticeable downside, Wicked Part 1 is an exhilarating watch for its smart plotline, theme-based musical numbers, and some brilliant casting choices.
Directors: Jon M Chu
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh