THE TIME OF ROMANTICIZED CRIMINALS
In his film Chicago, Rob Marshall pulls the audience back to the roaring ‘20’s when jazz is hot and vaudeville is all anyone. We follow the story of Roxie Hart as she goes from stardom hopeful, to a criminal, to an American Sweetheart. Marshall utilizes theatrical lighting, intriguing symbolism, masterful techniques and a beautiful, exciting musical score and choreography to enthrall his audience.
It is a musical so there are very many theatrical elements to it. Such as the set and the various dancing and singing scenes. Lighting is a key element throughout this film. For instance, when Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character Velma Kelly is singing with all of the rest of the women in the “Cell …show more content…
The symbolism was most seen in the dancing numbers that were cutting from real life to what Roxie was imagining. The first example was when Roxie shot Casely. She looked at her reflection and the image looking back at her turned blurry, indicating a shift in her character. Symbolism was also present when “Mama” was singing and pulling a green handkerchief from her bosom. The green handkerchief was symbolic of the money that the inmates paid her in order to get access to lawyers such as Billy Flynn. During the Cell Block Tango scene, as the inmates were singing about why they were in prison, they acted out exactly how they murdered their husbands or boyfriends and used red handkerchiefs to symbolize the blood and wounds. The “Cell Block Tango” was a very prominent scene, because all of the women were also wearing black, which stood for their wrongdoing. At one point, Velma wore a red outfit when singing about why she was in prison. Red is again used to show her rage and anger.
Additionally, Hunyak wears white on stage as she completes her “final disappearing act” while in real life she was being hanged although she was innocent. She may have been the only innocent character and the director utilized the use of the color white to show that. These examples of symbolism are so fluid, as David Ansen states in his article, “…the movie flows back and forth--stylishly, fluidly--between reality and illusion.” This …show more content…
The audience’s experience of tension and feeling is brought forth by the patterns of music and dance (Pearlman). In the “Razzle Dazzle” scene with Billy Flynn, the anxiety and tension that he is feeling could be felt through the choreography and the intense music. The audience already knows what he is feeling without him having to verbally explain his current state in this scene. Not once do the songs interrupt the film; they tie in so flawlessly with each scene and narrative that the story continues whether illusion takes place of reality or vice versa
In his film Chicago, Rob Marshall pulls the audience back to the roaring ‘20’s when jazz is hot and vaudeville is all anyone. We follow the story of Roxie Hart as she goes from stardom hopeful, to a criminal, to an American Sweetheart. Marshall utilizes theatrical lighting, intriguing symbolism, masterful techniques and a beautiful, exciting musical score and choreography to enthrall his audience.
It is a musical so there are very many theatrical elements to it. Such as the set and the various dancing and singing scenes. Lighting is a key element throughout this film. For instance, when Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character Velma Kelly is singing with all of the rest of the women in the “Cell …show more content…
The symbolism was most seen in the dancing numbers that were cutting from real life to what Roxie was imagining. The first example was when Roxie shot Casely. She looked at her reflection and the image looking back at her turned blurry, indicating a shift in her character. Symbolism was also present when “Mama” was singing and pulling a green handkerchief from her bosom. The green handkerchief was symbolic of the money that the inmates paid her in order to get access to lawyers such as Billy Flynn. During the Cell Block Tango scene, as the inmates were singing about why they were in prison, they acted out exactly how they murdered their husbands or boyfriends and used red handkerchiefs to symbolize the blood and wounds. The “Cell Block Tango” was a very prominent scene, because all of the women were also wearing black, which stood for their wrongdoing. At one point, Velma wore a red outfit when singing about why she was in prison. Red is again used to show her rage and anger.
Additionally, Hunyak wears white on stage as she completes her “final disappearing act” while in real life she was being hanged although she was innocent. She may have been the only innocent character and the director utilized the use of the color white to show that. These examples of symbolism are so fluid, as David Ansen states in his article, “…the movie flows back and forth--stylishly, fluidly--between reality and illusion.” This …show more content…
The audience’s experience of tension and feeling is brought forth by the patterns of music and dance (Pearlman). In the “Razzle Dazzle” scene with Billy Flynn, the anxiety and tension that he is feeling could be felt through the choreography and the intense music. The audience already knows what he is feeling without him having to verbally explain his current state in this scene. Not once do the songs interrupt the film; they tie in so flawlessly with each scene and narrative that the story continues whether illusion takes place of reality or vice versa