Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) has a very simple life, married with the simple and cuckold mechanic Amos Hart (John C. Reilley), but is a dreamer. She dreams of being successful, loved by the masses and rich, the same way Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones, in an outstanding performance) seems to be. Roxie is deceived by his lover, who had promised to present her to an owner of an important night-club only for taking sexual advantages from her and kills him. In the prison, she shares the jail with Velma, who killed her husband and her sister, and they become enemies. She meets Matron 'Mama' Morton (Queen Latifah), an important and influent jail-keeper, and Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), an expensive lawyer who never lost a case and who decided to take care of Roxie's case. Billy tries to change their passionate crimes to a different perspective to the public opinion. Yesterday I watched this movie for the first time. What a wonderful movie! The performance of the cast, highlighting Catherine Zeta-Jones in the first plan and Renée Zellweger next is fantastic. The screenplay, where reality is saw under the vision of Roxie as a musical all the time is marvelous. The direction is amazingly perfect for a rookie director of films. Congratulations to all cast: the Oscars wined by this film were very deserved. Renée Zellweger has proved in the past that she is an outstanding actress. Richard Gere also has many magnificent movies in his career. But Catherine Zeta-Jones surprised me a lot: I could never expect those skills on her. John C. Reilley is also a great underrated actor, but he has to be careful with his roles: this is the second time, in a short period, that he plays a cuckold (see `The Good Girl'). Honestly, I did not expect such an excellent movie. The scene of the interview of Roxie and Billy is a masterpiece. Only this scene would be enough for me. But this movie offers almost two hours of pleasure. I only regret that the DVD released in Brazil is in fullscreen, instead of widescreen. The extras are also great. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): `Chicago'
Title (Brazil): `Chicago'