Chicago

Watched it again today for the third time and it’s now 4th place on my Top 12 favorites, with Roma now at fifth. For my review, I’m attaching this 500 word movie review (not yet graded) I wrote on Chicago for our Literature class:c Universally acclaimed and credited for the re-emergence of the musical, Chicago was nominated for twelve Academy Awards and won Best Picture back in 2003, and won another five Academy Awards, including a Best Supporting Actress win for Catherine Zeta-Jones, who won for her portrayal of vaudevillian Velma Kelly. Chicago is the directorial debut of Rob Marshall, who nabbed a Best Director nomination for the film and also was responsible for the choreography of the film. The writer of this review loved the film enough to include it in his all-time favorites, a testament to the masterful filmmaking and dazzling spectacle of the film.     Set in the height of the Jazz Age, the viewer finds themselves in the shoes of Roxie Hart wanting, craving fame and performing onstage. This is where Chicago truly shines, as most of its musical numbers take place in Hart’s imagination. Most musicals feature people just getting up and start singing and dancing for no reason, so Chicago eliminates the need for the viewer to suspend their disbelief. * *    On a formalist approach, all of the technical elements of Chicago were outstanding for its time of release, and still outstanding today. The use of color is the best thing in the film, and the writer thinks so too, an example is the standout musical number Cell Block Tango in which all of the murderesses use red scarfs, except for the Hungarian-speaking ‘murderess’ whose scarf is white, symbolizing her innocence, which is confirmed by the only English phrase she speaks, not guilty. The Academy also thought that its technical elements were outstanding, proven by the fact that Chicago won four technical Academy Awards out of five technical nominations. * *    The editing was well-done, a testament to its masterful editing is the imaginary scene of the innocent Hungarian climbing a ladder appropriately intercut with her climbing the stairs to the gallows. However, the choreography leaves more to be desired, as Marshall settled for generic, but still hard to do, choreography instead of Bob Fosse’s inimitable and stylish choreography for the stage musical. The screenplay was good enough to have nabbed a screenplay nomination at the Academy Awards, and it’s not a surprise due to the witty and sharp dialogue spoken throughout the film, but the writer of this review thinks the third act needed a little trim, as its third act had long courtroom scenes and little-to-none musical numbers, which proved to be dull and jarring after more than an hour of rousing spectacle.     In conclusion, Chicago is a very watchable phenomenal masterpiece, thanks to the wonderfully sung and choreographed musical numbers. Stylish scenes liven up the film, and then livened up again, thanks to the amount of dark humor, depth, and stakes. The characters are relatable, the viewer is guaranteed to care about them, even if all only looked out and cared for themselves. A deserving Best Picture, Chicago is the best musical that will convert its haters to musical fans.* * * * Recommend me films here* *