Wicked review: What else can I say? Cynthia Erivo defies gravity
"As someone told me lately, everyone deserves the chance to fly." – Elphaba
All those people who start their reviews with “I knew nothing about Wicked going in…” probably assumed this movie was more or less the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West. Like most classically evil villains, she is a character who has always carried a certain gravitas that translates into a power that draws audiences in. Then, in 2003, Elphaba as a character debuted on Broadway backed by the unparalleled talent of Idina Menzel. Elphaba is where classic villainy meets a complete redemption story; she has an absolute conviction that everyone loves; she delivers one unbelievable song after another. According to Wicked, the Wicked Witch of the West’s intentions were always misunderstood, as she merely opposed the Wizard lying about his power and using that to hurt others. And with that, she became an undeniable source of empowerment.
Ariana Grande’s Glinda is naturally written to draw a lot more attention to herself. Meanwhile, Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba is understatedly elegant. She is genuinely polite to people who deign to speak to her decently. Erivo’s performance also has some appealing tones of being above everything, with eye rolls directed at Glinda and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey). Most of the time she is steely, but can quickly become angry and impassioned. Moments in the script and Erivo’s portrayal show subtle signs of childhood trauma, making her empathize with the ostracized animals for being told to “stop jabbering.” Then when she is having a friendly conversation with Glinda, there is something very calm and wise about her.
Elphaba’s story shows her in moments of dreaminess, self-realization, horror, defiance, and an incredible sense of self-empowerment. She deals with a lot of insecurity when the world around her wants to beat her down, but inversely, she has always inherently believed in herself. During “The Wizard and I,” Elphaba is giddy with her own daydreams. She is singing about all the things she will accomplish, all that the goodness the Wizard will see in her, because of course it’s there. When she spars with Glinda, she’s confident in the fact that she is right. And when “Defying Gravity” comes around, Erivo conveys a sense of surprise, curiosity, and thrill, finally thinking about what she will accomplish when she’s not considering arbitrary rules. In just a moment, Elphaba decides to leave it all behind and take on the world, and knows that she can. The new piece in the movie where Elphaba sees her young self while falling works because it reflects how she is also doing this for herself.
The one vulnerability, if you can even call it that, to Elphaba is that she is very lonely. Which is where Glinda comes into the story for her and everything slots into place. Glinda falls into Elphaba’s life like a shower of glitter, and for the most part, Elphaba is grateful for her presence. Having a friend who is kind, enthusiastic, and completely dedicated to the friendship is a welcome change for her, but she’s also fascinated by listening to Glinda espouse her worldview. Of course, Elphaba and Glinda’s differing philosophies will eventually clash, and it becomes a story about the limitations of both and admiring what the other one has that they do not. Wicked is a perfect balancing act of pink and green, and sociability and moral standing, of making compromises and fighting the problem head-on, strung together by the love between the two characters who represent these opposing ideas. However, on Elphaba’s side, Glinda will always be the one who did what no one else did and chose to be her friend.
And Erivo captures this all perfectly, showing Elphaba’s frustrations with Glinda but also with herself even before they part ways, and the bone-deep fondness she has for the future Good Witch. Erivo got her well-deserved Oscar nomination but has mostly fallen out of the discussion as a serious potential winner when her performance is one of the more subtle ones, and much of the characterization comes from the music itself (if you can hit those notes you will likely appear to be a goddess to me no matter what the details are of your performance). However, Erivo is still an all-star when it comes to showing a lot of simmering emotion behind an outwardly stoic character. Furthermore, Elphaba’s story is not over yet. Wicked: For Good will show Elphaba glowing with happiness and at her darkest hour, in many ways far more dramatic than the story of the first installment. Jon M. Chu could not have picked a better Elphaba, who may be an EGOT winner in a year to perfectly cap off the saga of the Wicked Witch of the West.