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Defying Gravity, which is probably the most famous anthem from the stage show Wicked, ends with a wonderful vocal crescendo and one big booming note. Bom! Song done, end of act one, curtain falls, rapturous applause. Anyone who is familiar with the show knows this is how it goes and listening to the tune will give them goosebumps every time, as they wait in anticipation again for this much loved musical moment. 

The tune doesn’t close that way in this film though. There’s a just little bit extra before the song wraps up. In fact it’s not just the end that has more in it; it takes seven minutes to sing it on stage but I swear here this closing number (this movie just covers Act One) runs for at least twice that. This is just one example of what they have done with this on screen adaptation all the way through; they have added little additional bits everywhere. So much so that at two hours and forty minutes this already plays for the same amount of time as it takes to perform the whole caboodle in the theatre, yet they are only half way.

Any time they spread an established single narrative across two or more films it instantly raises questions around whether this is being done for mostly commercial reasons. It’s hard not to think that this is true of Peter Jackson’s overlong adaptation of The Hobbit and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, and even Dune and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows continue to be debated in this respect. Having seen Wicked Part 1 (as it is actually called on the title card) I have to say that so far I am on board with the decision here. This movie really deepens the story and while I won’t say it improves on the show, it does turn it perfectly into an epic cinematic spectacle. Comparing it to its source material is actually redundant. It has the same beats, musically and plot wise, but it is totally its own thing. 

I can’t really tell you how they have managed to extend it, which is probably a good sign. There isn’t an obvious amount of additional material that’s added this further hour or so. There was plenty more story in the novel that started all of this but they’ve not fallen back on that. (In this case I refer to 1995’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West written by Gregory Maguire, rather than The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that Frank L. Baum gave us in almost a century earlier.) What they have certainly done is strengthened the characterisation.

This is clearly in the screenplay but it is also in the excellent performances of both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. When she appeared on the Carpool Karaoke TV program seven years ago Grande said her dream role was actually Elphaba but her casting as Glinda is perfect. She is a genuinely gifted comedy performer but she is strong in the dramatic moments as well. As it is Erivo nails Elphaba too and they complement one another really well. It will be interesting to see if either gets picked out come award season but in truth they are a wonderful double act. Apparently when invited to appear in the movie Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, who originated the parts on Broadway, said they didn’t want to risk overshadowing Grande and Erivo but without taking anything away from the two of them, they needn’t have worried. 

The other aspects that needed to work here were the staging, the set pieces and the design and they are all superb too. Ever since it first appeared on the big screen in 1925, but most notably in 1939, 1986 and 2013, Oz has always looked totally magical and the same is absolutely the case here. This might even be a little less self consciously done as it has been in the past as the imagery totally supports the story here without eclipsing it. 

I can’t tell you how this movie will land with audiences who don’t already love Wicked. I have friends in that position who have loved it as those that have not. This is undeniably a significant piece of cinema though I love it for that. I have confidence that what comes next (in exactly a year) will match it. I know some people say the second half of the musical is weaker but there is much in it that could really work on film so I’m not worried. This whole thing is clearly being constructed with passion, commitment and imagination and that’s bound to continue. If you are already a fan though then, just as Dorothy was, you’ll be blown away. 

It will get you…

and your little dog too.

I’ll stop now.

Bom!

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