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Chicago – 2002 Marshall
- It blew critics and the Academy away in 2002. Rare 4 star from Travers and many comparisons to Fosse’s 1972 Cabaret… it is not Cabaret
- I think it’s more a strong combination of pieces than brilliant artistic whole.
- The opening montage editing sequence that pairs Catherine Zeta Jones (just give her the supporting actress Oscar 5 minutes in) with the Zellweger character getting seduced and then ultimately committing the murder is a great montage—“all that jazz” song and the passionate love and killing
- On a pure content level I guess it’s a statement of celebrity and fame but this is no Lumet film (Network) in terms of intelligence. It’s no big meditation on these things—it’s a light romp- the film actually falters when it attempts brevity like the Hungarian woman who is innocent and gets hanged prison—it’s bad form—not set up correctly
- Faced paced film—15 to 16 musical numbers- there’s barely a stop between
- Won 6 Oscars, 4 acting noms and I don’t have a beef with any of them (gere wasn’t nominated- should’ve went for supporting instead of lead)
- The editing is crisp—Oscar win and the screenplay is playful and light. It really pops
- Zeta Jones is the main standout for me in the cast- she’s stunning, clearly a great dancer and singer—such a physical dynamic presence on screen—Gere is probably second- he’s the epitome of smooth
- It’s no masterpiece but there are some really inspired moments of set design and lighting as well- I love the shot behind John C. Reilly during his solo—the extended hands creating a sillouette against the lighting backdrop
- Recommend- certainly a good film and in the archives but not in my top 10 of 2002
Drake2017-12-01T16:44:46-05:00
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I think this film stretches the definition of what a film is. It often feels like an extended musical concert. There is singing and music in basically every scene. It just gets a bit tedious and repetitive after a while. It’s all loud and superficial. It’s an interesting and rather unique experience but it remains to be seen how much it works as a film. It’s an ambitious work unlike some of the other Best Picture winners such as Green Book . And visually brilliant. It’s very dynamic set design and lighting. Beautiful blue and red colour splashes against a dark background. Often creating silhouettes. Nine does this too. But also has a completely different all white set design and minimal lighting in the Kate Hudson musical number.
Even the domestic scenes in Chicago feel like it has a ton of soft yellow/orange lighting in the Art Direction to make everything come alive. This reflects off the actor’s faces. It’s a visual feast. I think the Cell Block Tango is the best musical number in the film. The John C. Reilly musical number is perhaps the most different in the film. It’s a very sad musical number. Then there is the creative ventriloquist dummy musical number. Which is fascinating. All the music is good but there needed to be more seperation between the music and the drama. Or perhaps this highly stylized way is the only way to execute this very thin screenplay.
I think the Casting Director deserves a raise for casting Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones in these roles. They are so different as actors. Zellweger has soft features, traditional beauty look, blonde curly hair, soft voice, comes across as genuinely dumb, melodramatic. While Zeta-Jones has strong features, imposing presence, straightened short brunette hair, strong voice and comes across very intelligent, confident. And I agree she is the standout. Zellweger is the lead but Zeta-Jones is always around her. The film is high on camp and I think Zellweger is perfect for the protagonist role. Everyone around her in the showbiz is much more confident and intelligent. While her working class husband played by Reilly is even more dumber. I think Reilly comes off the 3rd best especially with his solo. And then Queen Latifah and Richard Gere on the same level.
It was kind of crazy to me that Gere wasn’t Oscar nominated (the other four were nominated) despite featuring heavily in the marketing but after seeing the film it is reasonable. He looks very good at 53 here. And already had been a big star and prestige actor for more than two decades at this point. After the combo of Days of Heaven and American Gigolo in 1978 and 1980 respectively. But is somehow still yet to get an Oscar nomination. Although he has been nominated at the Golden Globes a handful of times. He is a bit of a Laurence Harvey type actor. I don’t think the Hungarian girl hanging is that much out of place in the film. The film has violence and murder all over it. The film is all about creating obstacles for the main character to overcome. So this murder is another obstacle. This actually guides her into the correct path. So, it’s a very critical scene in the screenplay. There is another scene that is similar with violence shortly after when a woman shoots her lover in front of the courtroom.
Chicago is a very old school film in terms of themes. Beauty and violence is certainly the main focus (if the two scantily clad girls imitating gun shooting in their musical performance wasn’t an indication of that already). It’s produced by Miramax. The campiness and selling movies based on beauty and violence was certainly prevalent in old school genre cinema. It was often associated with B films. So in a lot of ways this is a B film in terms of themes but an A film in terms of the budget. It’s fascinating how this combination evolved into Oscar glory in 2002 here. I chuckle at the thought of what A filmmakers and producers of say 1940’s to 1960’s would think if they ever saw this film. Rob Marshall is a sensual filmmaker in general. Especially from 2002 to 2011.
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I have a friend who compares Chicago with To Die For (1995) as they mock (does chicago mock it?) obsession with celebrity/fame, the ever changing media spotlight/public opinion and both feature women who have to claw their way to the top while men are already there. What are your thoughts on this
@Kidman69— That hadn’t occurred to be but I see the comparison. I think that checks out. Many films meditate on the nature of celebrity and celebrity culture. The King of Comedy is in that vein as well.