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Chicago

With the right song and dance, you can get away with murder. 

Year: 2002 
Running Time:
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (XWide) 
Certificate: BBFC 12A Cert – Under 12s admitted only with an adult 
Subtitles: The level of subtitling in this film is unknown to WSC 
Directed by Rob Marshall 
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah  
An image from Chicago
Review:

Chicago is a multi-Academy-Award-winning musical with a catchy soundtrack partnered with stunning visuals which earned it “Best Picture” for 2003. This film is a spectacle of murder and fame set in a jazzy 1920’s Chicago and is a fantastic adaptation of the stage musical of the same name. I think it translates so well from stage to film, having a great balance of interesting plot and engaging musical numbers to tell the story in a unique way. Housewife Roxie and show-girl Velma are both in jail awaiting trial for their respective murders when both find themselves being represented by Chicago’s flashiest hotshot lawyer. Billy Flynn has won every case for the female clients he’s represented, using his tried-and-true strategy of making these criminals famous and gaining the public's favour. So, Roxie and Velma are in a battle of who-will-make-the-front-page as they await their trials and will string any lie if it means a ticket off of death row. All of the characters are unlikeable but in a fun kitsch way and the songs will be stuck in your head for days.

Victoria Beaumont

"5,6,7,8..." The jazz bands playing in Chicago cover up the gunshots of scorned women, but the music can’t keep them hidden away. Wannabe vaudeville star Roxie Hart (Zellweger) is in jail for murder. To the press, her crime is small change compared with the double homicide committed by elusive club singer Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones). What’s a little time on the cellblock when you’re on the front page of every paper in town? With top lawyer Billy Flynn (Gere) working on her case, Ms. Kelly is sitting pretty. Roxie recruits the help of Mama Morton (Latifah) who’ll do anything as long as she gets her slice of the pie. How can Roxie stay focused on winning her trial, when all of Chicago is dying for her attention?

Set in 1920s Chicago, this classic piece of cinema is based on the critically acclaimed stage musical of the same name. Refreshingly, this film stands on its own as a brilliantly directed script with great cinematography and an amazing cast. Marshall was not well known before this film but has subsequently directed Memoirs of a Geisha and last year’s hit, Nine. He combines the media of film and theatre excellently, ensuring what happens on screen is vastly different from what can be done on stage. The film skips surreally from reality to stage show; maintaining a light atmosphere even though the plot is as serious as murder.

Zellweger excels as the fame-hungry cutie who finds herself in a different world to the one she used to know. The major shiner, however, is Zeta-Jones, who belts out real talent and well deserves the Oscar she won. For fans of the stage show this is a must! Even if you’re the tough masculine type who wouldn’t be caught dead at a musical, there are enough scantily clad women to keep your eyes glued.

Samilia Ekeocha

Roxie Hart (Zellweger) is a married woman desperate to make it on the Chicago vaudeville stage. After a moment of madness in which she shoots her lover, Hart is arrested and taken off to prison, where she meets Velma Kelley (Zeta-Jones), a stage star who was one half of a double act until she killed her sister - her co-star - and her husband when she caught them together.

While in prison, Roxie is helped by Matron ‘Mama’ Morton (Queen Latifah), who puts her in touch with Billy Flynn (Gere) - the best lawyer Chicago has to offer, and a great publicist to boot. As both women try to sing and dance their way to freedom, the audience is shown both the glamorous and the seedy sides of the Chicago legal system.

Chicago continues what seems to have been a recent rebirth of the Hollywood film musical, and while it certainly borrows from its predecessors (it owes a great deal to Cabaret’s sensibility, Moulin Rouge’s frenetic style and even Bugsy Malone’s staging), there is a great deal to admire here. The costumes and set decoration are designed to perfection and the cinematography and editing combine to provide a true spectacle.

Of course, what really makes or breaks a musical is the cast, and here Chicago is somewhat hit and miss. Renée Zellweger belts as much as she can while Richard Gere looks slightly more uncomfortable when required to sing and dance - a shame, since his seedy lawyer is perfect while he’s actually acting. Special praise must go to John C. Reilly, who is quite superb as Roxie’s long suffering and excruciatingly put upon husband Amos (and one of the only characters who invites true empathy), and Queen Latifah, who shows what a real singer can do in a film like this, selling her number like no other can. But this is Catherine Zeta-Jones’s show. Effortlessly brushing aside Zellweger every time the two share the screen, she’s a true Hollywood star in the best tradition and the real star of Chicago. Her rendition of All That Jazz kicks off the film in the best possible way, and her turn in the courtroom scene radiates Hollywood star power.

Winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Zeta-Jones, Chicago is a real treat, inviting the audience to simply revel in its style, exuberance and sheer audacity.

Laura Watson

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Screenings of this film:

2002/2003 Summer Term (35mm)
2002/2003 Summer Term (35mm)
2009/2010 Summer Term (35mm)
2024/2025 Autumn Term (35mm)