Her moments on screen transcended the syrupy and sticky sweetness between Ariana, as Glinda or Erivo as Elphaba, that sold the movie as the new must-see, along with a list of must-haves.
I watched the movie 'Wicked' this weekend for more of the respite and uplift, than the reward side of a treat- and it delivered both!
I'd been waiting to watch the movie but it didn't seem like common sense to either buy a couple of tickets or pay full price to stream it until a familiar feeling, "I need a treat", collided with it becoming available to watch at home on Amazon Prime at the same price to see it in a cinema. All of a sudden, I wanted it and I wanted it now!
There is nothing like experiencing something the first time. The things you notice are by raw instinct. No one else will experience it the same and there will never be another first time after that.
Similarly, on first watch, the things that grab your attention are the things you are wired to see, that appeal to you, that your senses select just for you.
Now, I already knew 'Wicked' was a smorgasbord of orgasmic visuals, of auditory stimulants, of dopaminergic story telling and it would not disappoint, but sweet Oz- that Cynthia at first glimpse!
Her moments on screen transcended the syrupy and sticky sweetness between Ariana, as Glinda or Erivo as Elphaba that sold the movie as the new must-see, along with a list of must-haves.
Her acting effortlessly kept from view, how much effort was behind even the slightest brush of the hair away from the nape of the neck and each micro expression, that delivered volumes of internal conflict and inner-monologue to her character, and in equal measure, embodied a host of feelings only understood by people who live in bodies that aren't seen- people who live in lives already written as a means to another's ends.
Cynthia's magnetism in a scene, was not of the variety where you noticed the actor's looks, the actor acting or their lead role. It just did the job, holding together the tempo and beats necessary to move the story forward and give meaning to the innuendo between the other characters.
Part of her allure is how she melds into the art and becomes metaphor for life, and then manages to transcend in both art and life, the code switch of living in two or many worlds at the same time, while operating in a space free of the mental noise that comes with it.
With Cynthia, you do not see "I am acting", "I am trying to sound American", "I am trying to switch between being British or being Nigerian", "I am trying to sing" or "I am queer"- just Cynthia, with the inner self-talk equivalent of the Ozempic brain, where people on the weight-suppression medication, claim they suddenly feel free of obsessive thoughts about food and no longer have incessant, internal 'food talk'.
It's a theme of freedom you sense in the spirit of the entire film, but one not more palpable than in those final scenes, where Erivo steps into her moment, and sings the anthem of freedom for all of us, like she is speaking to voices that have said "you are not one of them", faces that have said "and you are not like us"; to looks, gestures, vibes, one form of mental noise or other, even the loud chatter of chocolate and fast food-
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