Review of Chicago (2002) by Gavin M — 22 Apr 2012

Chicago is simply an awesome movie, and there are barely enough words to describe how awesome it is, but I'm going to try anyway. It is probably one of the best musicals ever made, and it is responsible for bringing back the modern movie musical.

Without this, there would be no Phantom, no Sweeney Todd, no Hairspray, so it is at least for those reasons that one should see Chicago. But barring that, it's just a really great movie, and it rightfully dominated Oscar season that year.

The film follows the story of Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger), a housewife desperate in her quest for fame, which is what ends up putting her on trial for murder. The film offers up satire (with regards to publicity, a celebrity's relationship with the press, celebrity trials, and showbiz in general) cynicism, and spectacle in equal parts, and it actually has some interesting things to say, translated perfectly through a brilliant script by Bill Condon.

The film also features some of the most memorable (and occasionally quite reprehensible) characters ever written, from Roxie herself (who remains consistently interesting throughout) to the film's other stars Velma Kelly (a fellow actress and murderess played by Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Billy Flynn (Roxie's slimy lawyer played by Richard Gere).

However, the most endearing and sympathetic character is Roxie's poor put-upon husband Amos, played brilliantly by John C. Reilly in an Oscar nominated performance. Besides the script, the film also features an array of fine performances from Renee Zellweger (who captures the desperate-for-attention nature of Roxie perfectly), Catherine Zeta-Jones (who is utterly enigmatic as the bombshell Velma Kelly, winning an Oscar for her performance), Richard Gere (brilliant as the amoral attorney, but the only one that didn't get Oscar attention for his role), the already mentioned John C.

Reilly, and Queen Latifah as Mama Morton (just as good as she was in Hairspray, if not better). However, this is a musical, so it wouldn't be all that much without musical numbers. The songs are wonderfully performed, written, and choreographed (what do you expect when they were originally created by Bob Fosse?) and above all, supremely entertaining.

I also love how they were incorporated into the story, and if you watch the movie you will certainly get that. The visuals are also fantastic, winning several Oscars (for editing, costuming, art direction, etc.

) and are chock-full of period details, giving an appropriate sense of atmosphere. All in all, Chicago is unlike any film I've ever seen, and it is one that all film buffs should see, even if they aren't particularly fond of musicals.