Chicago Movie Critique

In the 2002 musical rendition of Chicago, directed by Rob Marshall, the viewer is taken back to the roaring 20's where industry is laying its' foundation and residents are surviving and thriving. Historically, the film is accurate in regards to the portrayal of speakeasies, the beginning of jazz, and the gritty town, but some detailed discrepancies were apparent in the technology of the time. The film adaptation takes you directly into a speakeasy where a cabaret singer Velma Kelly, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones is giving a vibrant and provocative performance later to be arrested and charged for murdering her sister and husband for having an affair. The next scene is equally provocative, but rather on stage it takes place in the rundown apartment

The economy was thriving and industry was strong in the north. As of 2004 in the Encyclopedia of Chicago listed on its website that Chicago grew rapidly, and by 1920 the windy city earned the title of the industrial capitol of the United States which was portrayed accurately in the movie. When the camera would pan out into the city, it showed a dark and dingy skyline. It was obvious that the city relied heavily on industry because the scenes of the city showed air pollution and factories along with people in a rush to get to work. Besides the accurate portrayal of a growing industrious city, another thing that was depicted correctly was the lively jazz age and the speakeasies that hosted theses performances. Prohibition started in 1920 and it banned establishments from selling, producing, and transporting alcohol. Because of this, illegal operations known as speakeasies opened to sell alcohol. Since these underground bars were completely illegal, the people who ran these operations wanted to keep them as quiet as possible which meant they didn't want to stir up any controversy. As a result, speakeasies were a melting pot for many cultures because they were not segregated. This is accurately depicted in the movie because there are people of color in the audience watching the performers and enjoying a drink. Despite these accuracies, there is one detail that is blatantly obvious. In the scene

The film used vibrant horns and intense, fast paced percussion to prove that the roaring twenties got that name for a reason. Along with the bright intrastation, Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart both had voices that fit in with the twenties aesthetic (time period) seamlessly. Since the movie was filmed in 2002, the height of Britney Spears, it was expected to have a certain modern pop tone in the singer’s voices, but instead their voices were raspy and bluesy like popular music in the 1920's. Their voices can be easily compared with Mildred Bailey and Anette Hanshaw, who were famous jazz singers in the twenties. By preforming the music as authentically as musicians would during the 1920's, the directors put the viewers into the era which helps create the illusion that you're there in the audience watching Roxie and Velma