Of 2 Dance Sequences from Chicago - Movie Review Example

Movie Review of 2 Dance Sequences from “Chicago” What is wonderful about watching a musical, be it on stage or on film, is that all of the actions depicted are meant to help advance the plot of the story in such a way that the audience is not told about it but rather shown. By doing so, the audience has a more enjoyable time watching the story unfold before them. One of the movies that successfully uses dance in order to advance its story plots, and also explain what is happening in a scene to the viewers if the movie “Chicago”.

Take for example the highly detailed dance sequence for “Cell Block Tango” helped us understand the fear and mindset of Roxie as a new inmate in the prison. The sequence starts with the water from the tap dripping in a specific rhythm, followed by the cadence of the guards footsteps, then the cutaway to the face or Roxie, afraid and uncertain as the begging bars of the the song begin to stream in. Then, we hear the stories of the inmates, told through dance with cut away to prison scenes where the inmates are discussing how they ended up in prison.

The seamless editing of dance and narration keeps the viewer engaged as we learn the background of the other female prisoners and we slowly come to see that Roxie has finally adjusted to prison life and is now talking to the other women. By getting to know these women through dance, people watching the film also get to judge who may truly be guilty or not based upon the stories they tell Roxie or the stories that Roxy overhears. “I Can't Do It Alone” by Catherine Zeta Jones as Velma Kelly in the movie is another example of what this movie does best, show the story rather than tell.

Viewers already know that her lawyer Billy Flynn, as portrayed by Richard Gere had moved on from her high profile case to his next one. The murder case of Roxie Hart (Renne Zellweiger). All of the spotlight from the radio and newspaper era had also shifted to Roxie's case at the time due to fantastic manipulation skills of Roxie and her lawyer. Velma, in an effort to get back not only her lawyer's attention, but also the spotlight, tries to convince Roxie that by teaming up with her, they can both get the kind of name in lights, spotlight centered on us type of audience attention to no avail.

The colors red and black are predominant in the costumes and lighting. I believe this is because Velma's character was truly more of a murderer than Roxy was, thus the red and black color in her costumes helped the audience to remember that Velma was a manipulative person who will resort to murder if she needs to in order to get her way. Red is the color of blood and Black is the color of the night. Red, simply put signifies the blood shed by Velma's sister which landed her in jail and Black, is the color of Velma's soul.

A soul that is more than willing to do anything underhanded in order to keep what she believes is rightfully hers. In this case, she believes that Billy Flynn is rightfully her lawyer and he was being stolen by Roxy. The dance movement was as fast paced and hectic as the music itself in “I Can't Do It Alone”. The choreography was meant to explain the plans that Velma had for partnering up with Roxy after they got out of jail. A dance partnership that would help them both get to the top. Or at least that is how Roxy saw it in her head.

Remember that all of these dance sequences only happened in her imagination so, the movements portrayed in the segment, could also be the way that Roxy saw Velma speaking to her. Keep in mind that Roxy idolizes Velma so it is quite possible that she saw Velma performing in her head instead of speaking to her because that was the only way that she used to see Velma, on-stage, dancing, and communicating with her through song and dance. Finally, we have the most informative, comical and entertaining scenes in the movie as danced by Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) called “Tap Dancing Around the Witness”.

This sequence happens towards the end of the movie. There is a specific message in this scene. When you are a lawyer who sees his case going up in flames due to a surprise witness, think fast, think on your feet, and move even faster to manipulate the evidence. Typical lawyering. But rather than boring the audience with a lengthly discussion and debate scene, director Rob Marshall interspersed Billy Flynn's tap dance in order to cut the monotony and convey exactly what I mentioned previously.

Having nothing to use against the prosecution or witness, Flynn literally “tap danced” around the witness in order to extricate information that he may or may not be able to use against the prosecution. He successfully did this as accentuated by his statement “The defense rests!” and the pointed ending tap of Billy Flynn in his tap dance number. The character development of Billy Flynn was aided in this sequence as it helped establish why he was considered to be the top notch lawyer in his city and also, why all high profile cases come to him for defense.

He can tap dance his way around even the most incriminating evidence and use it in defense of his client. A feat that not all lawyers can accomplish. Given these 3 scenes that stuck to my mind from the movie, I would have to commend everyone involved in the production for their dedication to the art of dance. Their hard work has made Chicago and instant classic musical that is sure to withstand the test of time and be referred to in academic studies of the musical and dance genre for years to come.

Works Cited Chicago. Dir. Rob Marshall. Perf. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zelweigger, Richard Gere, Maya. Miramax Films, 2002. DVD.