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Chapter 240: The Caged Beast
🕑 Added 2025-01-12 20:10:48 +0000 UTCThe scene had transitioned to Roxie Hart's home. After sleeping with a furniture salesman, she was still dreaming of becoming a star. However, the salesman shattered her illusions with harsh truths, mocking her, throwing her to the ground, and sneeringly asking what she could do about it.
At this point, many viewers shook their heads. It wasn't dissatisfaction, but rather a deep-seated recognition of the film's ridicule of Roxie. Though the plot felt overly familiar, its presentation on the big screen heightened the satire, particularly with the director's simple yet effective method of introducing Roxie's character.
This woman was somewhat attractive, seemingly charming and lovely, yet so easily deceived by such lowly tactics. It showed her desperate desire for fame but also her sheer stupidity.
When a foolish woman is enraged, she often acts without thinking. Roxie retrieved a gun from the drawer and shot the furniture salesman.
Killing a swindler delighted the audience, but Roxie's subsequent fate was predictable. At first, a few viewers might have felt a tinge of sympathy for her, but that soon vanished.
This was because Roxie's musical performance began.
The police arrived at her home to question both Roxie and her husband, Amos. The scene switched to Roxie's fantasy world, introducing her first song, Play the Tune. Roxie lied to her husband, claiming the victim was just a thief, and convinced him to take responsibility. As she observed the possibility of fooling the police and manipulating her kind but somewhat slow husband, her singing and smiles expressed feigned affection and the last remnants of genuine sentiment.
Although Roxie's face displayed tenderness, viewers looked at her with scorn. Duke didn't employ any complex techniques; anyone could easily see that she was a foolish, ignorant, and self-righteous woman who couldn't grasp the reality of her situation.
"She doesn't deserve sympathy!"
Roxie, brimming with arrogance, only invited disdain. One viewer couldn't help but exclaim.
In this segment, Duke used a parallel, first-person perspective. Roxie, singing solo beside a piano, appeared as though she was confiding her thoughts directly to the audience, sharing her innermost feelings about her husband. Many viewers felt as though they were inside the screen, engaging directly with Roxie.
A kind but dull man and a foolish, ignorant woman—how could these two possibly deceive the police? The police quickly uncovered their scheme. When Amos learned the victim was a furniture salesman who visited often and might have been an adulterer, he exclaimed in shock, and their deceit unraveled.
Moments ago, Roxie was praising her husband. But when the truth came out, Roxie, consumed by lust, immediately changed her tune. Her singing was filled with mockery and resentment.
"She's truly vain and stupid to the extreme!" Viewers couldn't help but think. "No matter how alluring her looks and exposed legs are, they can't mask her vicious and vulgar nature!"
Roxie was taken into custody and informed she might face execution by hanging. With that, the second musical number ended.
"Well-handled!"
In the front row, George Lucas nodded. He understood Duke well. Musical performances weren't his forte, but his mastery of scene lighting and color was evident. Even Lucas himself might not have done better.
The second number reflected Roxie Hart's inner world. On a spotlighted stage, Roxie sang about her imagined future.
When her husband discovered the victim was an adulterer and began accusing her, the visual style abruptly shifted. Cool tones dominated. Blue lighting illuminated the husband, despite the warm pendant light above his head. Lucas recognized that this contrast was deliberate, enhancing the theatricality while reflecting Roxie's perception of her husband at that moment.
When Roxie was taken away, the overall frame turned dark, exuding an ominous atmosphere. The only interruption was a sudden camera flash, leaving the lighting in perpetual shadow.
"Duke's style is undeniably Gothic—grim and eerie..."
As Lucas mused, Roxie was escorted to prison. Awaiting the warden, she entered another fantasy sequence introducing the female prison warden through song.
Again, the scene featured vivid contrasts in color and lighting.
"This time, the dominant tone is a fiery, passionate red!"
Lucas nodded. Such a scene naturally aligned with the musical's style.
The Black prison warden entered, as imposing as the red tones themselves. Her commanding presence was amplified by strong backlighting and her swaggering mannerisms, fully capturing her domineering aura.
As in earlier sequences, the lyrics were straightforward. The warden made it clear: give her benefits, and she would treat you well.
Lucas noted a unique low-angle shot during a montage alternating between reality and fantasy, with the warden escorting Roxie to her cell. The perspective, framed through iron bars, subtly hinted at Roxie's growing anxiety.
The song's climax ended with a sharp transition from passionate red to icy blue, signifying the end of flattery and temptation and the arrival of cold, dark prison life.
In prison, Roxie saw Velma, whom she had always envied. Through Velma's interactions with the warden and her dismissive attitude, Roxie began to sense a shift in the dynamic.
The dim lighting failed to brighten the prison's darkness. Pure melodies couldn't cleanse its corruption, and crystalline tears couldn't purify the filth within the iron bars.
The fourth musical number, Cell Block Tango, debuted, showcasing a breathtaking Beastly Beauties Dance. Through song and dance, the murderous stories of six female inmates were revealed.
This performance, though directed by Duke, featured choreography meticulously crafted by Lily Freed.
With its infectious energy and striking visual impact, the six dancers conveyed their backgrounds through alternating inner monologues and conversations. In this interplay between cool and dark tones, the women's ruthlessness, wildness, and multifaceted personalities were vividly portrayed.
"An ingenious director and a clever approach!"
Watching the six-person dance, Whitney couldn't help but exclaim. She had been eager to see Mia Valentin's performance in the film, partly to compare the two female leads. As a theater critic, she was naturally inclined toward Mia Valentin.
Mia Valentin did have a solo and a group dance, but there was no comparison. The director clearly didn't want her to steal the spotlight. Her solo featured only side-angle shots, and her group dance was deliberately understated.
However, Catherine Zeta-Jones' performance was a revelation. Her explosive energy and stunning looks justified Duke Rosenberg's choice to cast her as the lead.
One delightful surprise for Whitney was the use of silk scarves as props, which added a finishing touch.
Set against a deep blue backdrop, lighting alternated between blue and red. During the women's stories, the lighting remained cool. At the climax—depicting the murders—it abruptly switched to blood-red, with red scarves symbolizing the killings, emphasizing the notion that beautiful women could also be killers.
There was one exception: the Hungarian inmate. Her romantic melody, graceful dance, and white scarf highlighted her innocence. Ironically, she became the first woman in Illinois executed by hanging.
The caged beasts were seductive women who took to the stage one by one, spreading their legs and performing wild, passionate Spanish dances. The audience was simultaneously captivated and terrified, nodding in agreement with the women's declaration: "Men are always like this. They think they own us and stop treasuring us."
This musical number brought the film to a climax. When the scene returned to the prison and Roxie learned from the warden that lawyer Billy could save her, the applause gradually subsided.
At last, the film's biggest name—Tom Cruise—made his appearance. His mere walk through the prison was enough to elicit gasps of admiration from the female audience, who seemed to have been waiting for this moment.
Next came Tom Cruise's group dance. Young and handsome, he demonstrated impressive singing skills. Supported by his fans, this number ended with enthusiastic applause.
"Is this really Tom Cruise?"
Alan turned to Kunitz with curiosity. "He seems different, almost as if his acting has improved."
"You fool, don't forget who directed him—it's Duke!" Kunitz replied matter-of-factly. "Even a pig would become the world's most outstanding pig under Duke's direction, let alone Tom Cruise."
Tom Cruise showed noticeable improvement in his acting. His dedication to the musical performance stood out, and in some ways, it was exceptional.
Many viewers felt the same way. In Chicago, Cruise was no longer the same Cruise. At least, when he appeared on the big screen, people didn't immediately associate his character with his real name.
His role as lawyer Billy was the most significant male character in the film. It was fair to call him the male lead. The lawyer was skilled, cunning, and opportunistic, with close ties to the media. He knew how to manipulate public opinion. After Roxie secured his services, kind-hearted Amos once again stepped forward, raising money to fight the case.
Though the funds were insufficient, Billy still took the case, using the media to portray Roxie as an innocent, kind, and beautiful woman.
