“Chicago is a screen triumph that should ride critical kudos and award recognition to significant commercial success, though its potential could be limited by the inherent darkness of the material and less-than-likeable main characters.”
Overture/ All That Jazz
As a journalist covering trials of murderous women for the Chicago Tribute during the roaring twenties, Maurine Dallas Watkins witnessed first-hand the influence of media reporting on the outcome of such trials. She wrote the stage play Chicago based on two cases she was reporting as a satire of sensationalism, publicity and the romanticisation of murder in the press. The play was turned into a musical in the 1970s and is the second longest running musical on Broadway by number of performances. The musical was then adapted for the cinema screen in 2002 with a star-studded cast, winning six out of a dozen Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
Cell Block Tango
At first glance, Velma (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Roxie (Renée Zellweger) could not be more different. Roxie is stuck in an unfulfilling marriage, longing to rise to fame and live a more exciting life. Velma is a successful nightclub singer and vaudevillian, or in other words, everything that Roxie aspires to be. Yet, they have one thing in common and that is being capable of murder. Velma kills her husband and sister after catching them in flagrante. A month later, Roxie kills her lover after being faced with the truth of his false promises to help her to stardom. In the song “Cell Block Tango”, Velma and five other murderesses show that they are without remorse for killing their victims as “they had it coming and only themselves to blame”.
All I Care About
The two women meet in prison and are represented by the same defence lawyer, Billy Flynn (Richard Gere). Roxie is terrified as she will be hanged if she is convicted. When she first hears about Flynn, “the best criminal lawyer in all of Illinois” who has never lost a case for a female murderer, she becomes hopeful and imagines a philanthropic lawyer. In reality, the “silver-tongued prince of the courtroom” is the opposite of her fantasy. He only cares about two things: money and the fame his cases bring him. Consequently, he always prioritises the case that will attract the most media attention. First, he neglects Velma when he takes on Roxie. Then he almost forgets about her when another woman is arrested for murder, but he underestimated Roxie’s desperation and guile. However, the way Flynn treats his clients is not the only reason his ethics are questionable.
We Both Reached for the Gun
The first step in Flynn’s defence plan for Roxie is to gain sympathy from the press as they “cannot resist a reformed sinner”. He calls a press conference where he acts as both a ventriloquist, his words coming out of Roxie’s mouth, and as a puppeteer, controlling the narrative. On the one hand, the press conference scene shows Flynn’s ability to easily manipulate journalists into believing that a beautiful young woman must be innocent. On the other hand, it mocks the corrupt way of how murder stories are presented in the news where murderers and murderesses alike gain celebrity statuses.
Razzle Dazzle
Moments before the trial, the “sweetest little jazz killer” is a nervous wreck, which is no wonder considering she is facing a death sentence for the murder which she technically did commit. Flynn does not share her worries. After all, there is a reason he has never lost a case. He knows that trial is all about giving the jury, judge and court reporters the show they want to see and that it does not matter that their defence is as fictional as any theatre play. His approach leads to many ethical issues regarding perjury and subordination to perjury.
The trial itself is not very realistic which is most discernible when Flynn objects, the judge sustains, and the prosecutor exclaims that he hadn’t even asked his question yet. Knowing that the musical is a satire, it is obvious that this deviation from reality is intentional with the purpose of mocking the legal system. From today’s perspective, one could even argue that the courtroom scene takes on a second role as a parody of the theatrical portrayal of trials in cinema.
Final Thoughts
Chicago’s mockery of the glorification of murder in the media combined with its cinematography create an entertaining film where the audience questions their own morals as they are swept away by a world of liquor and jazz.
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