Wicked | Film Review

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a girl with green skin and mysterious powers, forms an unlikely friendship with Galinda (Ariana Grande). A friendship that will change both of their lives, for good or bad, forever.

I was so so excited to see this film. Not only am I a fan of musicals in general, but I saw the stage show of Wicked years ago and loved it, so I've been waiting with bated breath for the movie adaptation!

I absolutely loved this film!

I had chills from the first bar of the opening song and they stayed with me the entire way through.

It was a really interesting experience seeing it in the cinema, it almost felt like seeing it in theatre. I wanted to applaud after every song.

And this was partly due to how well the songs were sung, and by extension, how well the parts were played. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were perfect - I wouldn't have changed a thing about what either of them did in this film. They completely embodied their roles, played these characters and their development perfectly and sang the songs incredibly. It really does feel like no one else could have played these roles.

And that goes for the rest of the cast, who were also really really great in their respective roles. 

The film explores a variety of themes, including friendship, oppression, prejudice and intolerance. I think from an outside perspective you would expect these themes, particularly the darker ones, to be touched on lightly and not really delved into, but that's the opposite of what you find here. The film doesn't shy away from any of its darker themes.

I didn't expect to find the film as emotional as I did. Whether it was the way certain themes were explored, or just how believable and authentic the characters and world felt, but I found myself near tears at least a handful of times, which I didn't expect. 

And after sitting with it for a little while I still feel affected by it.

I also didn't expect the story to be so thrilling and exciting. I knew roughly where things were going so it wasn't that anything was a huge surprise, but I still became so invested in it that I was really excited to see where it would go next.

Despite an almost 3 hour runtime, I could have watched a lot more of the film. The pacing was so good that it didn't feel long at all - I barely noticed the time passing because I was so engrossed in the film.

Overall, I loved the film so much. It was close to perfect and I really can't wait to see the second part this year! I was also so happy to see that it's been nominated for so many Oscars!

9/10