Chapter 236: Stripping to the Waist to Go Into Battle

In prison, Roxie caught wind of the famous defense attorney Billy's undefeated "record." Armed with endless flattery and her husband's generous financial backing, she snatched Billy's support right out of Velma's hands. Through Billy's careful molding and the media's relentless hype, Roxie transformed from a ruthless tramp into a sympathetic little sweetheart.

Then came the puppet ventriloquist dance. The press conference was staged as a puppet show, stylizing the identities of the lawyer and the reporters.

As the mastermind of the press conference, Billy acted as the puppeteer, treating the reporters and Roxie as his marionettes. His dance moves dictated the rhythm, while the reporters and Roxie moved passively, matching their steps entirely to his lead.

The scene laid everything bare before the audience: Billy's domineering cunning, the reporters' blind pursuit, and Roxie's complete submission to his strings.

The puppet ventriloquist act wasn't an original creation of the film; it had existed in the original stage musical. Yet, Gru could clearly feel how different the film's rendition was from every stage production he had ever seen—and how much more brilliant.

First were the wooden expressions painted onto everyone's faces. The two performers on stage peddled their lies beneath thick layers of greasepaint—so thick no one could possibly see them blush, perfectly fitting the scene.

Second was the flawless marriage of light, shadow, and plot. The rose-red lighting bathed the stage in a warm, lively, and adorable glow. Watching such a fiercely satirical and comical scene unfold beneath those cheerful tones made for a wonderfully entertaining contrast.

Throughout the montage of Roxie riding her newfound interview fame, every shot was deliberately desaturated, lending the scenes a gritty, documentary-like realism. Yet, set against actual reality, the effect was incredibly comical and heavily ironic. She had bought her fame with bald-faced lies, but the film presented it with stark authenticity. Where, then, did the line between truth and falsehood lie?

Needless to say, these desaturated shots served as highly understated segments.

Roxie was famous. She had become a celebrity in Chicago, the City of Sin. Bewitched by the media, the public obsessed over her hairstyle and happily spent money on her everyday items. Meanwhile, through a series of clever maneuvers, Billy smoothly secured his $5,000 legal fee.

The shots on screen looked extremely joyful, yet everyone could feel the dark satire within them.

What would happen when a vulgar, vicious, and ignorant woman like Roxie achieved fame? It was actually not hard to imagine. She rejected Velma's request to collaborate, viciously mocked her, and then the film used another song and dance to reveal her shift in mentality.

First, inside Roxie's prison cell, flowers and reader letters stuffed the cramped space to the brim. A gorgeously dressed Roxie lazily flipped through the news and reports about herself.

The warden asked about her plans after her release.

"I want to perform on stage," she casually replied.

Then, Roxie began her narcissistic monologue.

First was a woman's seductive reflection; the polished floor mirrored Roxie's obsession with her own appearance.

The camera panned up to freeze on Roxie's face as she recalled her bitter past. But soon, her self-inflation and smugness were exposed after recalling past bitterness to appreciate present sweetness. She twisted her body, and beneath the coquettish performance was a wildly arrogant heart she could not hide.

When filming this sequence, Duke deliberately had the mirrors in the empty, black set increase one by one.

On one hand, the mirrors could be seen as a full projection of Roxie's inner ecstasy. On the other, the reflection from one mirror, to two, to multiple mirrors, actually served as a metaphor for the fact that as Roxie's desires relentlessly expanded, her personality gradually splintered into fragmented pieces.

On her path to fantasy, Roxie also encountered a challenge. The daughter of a plantation upstart was jailed for shooting her lover; not only did all the media reporters swarm the newcomer, but even Billy abandoned Roxie. The foolish Roxie resorted to the best method she could think of—faking a pregnancy to attract the attention of Billy and the media, then bribing a doctor with her body to get a fake certificate.

Seeing this, the audience all laughed. How could such a darkly satirical scene not be funny?

At the same time, they were asking who the actress playing the upstart was. She was utterly dazzling when she appeared, effortlessly stealing every eye. In that moment, even Tom Cruise paled in comparison before her. This woman's aura was exceptionally strong!

A new farce took the stage, and Roxie's husband also came on for a solo. Though he was just a minor supporting character, combined with the special staging—especially the monologue of this pitiful, invisible man where a pure white frontal light completely obscured his features—the loneliness and despair of being ignored and having his identity trampled upon stood out even more strikingly alongside his silhouette.

It also indirectly highlighted the ridiculous absurdity of the era reflected by the film.

As a laughable fool like Roxie found continuous success and a growing reputation, she naturally looked down on everyone—she even disdained her savior, Billy. Fortunately, she was not incurably stupid. When the only innocent Hungarian woman among the six beasts was sent to the gallows, it woke her up!

"This trial, this whole world... is actually all just an act."

Lawyer Billy's words seemed to reveal the true essence of Chicago in that era. Then, a fully awakened Roxie walked into the courtroom with him to face the judgment of the law.

This was Tom Cruise's performance time.

Frankly speaking, even when Duke watched this courtroom performance, he had to admit that Tom Cruise was a very hardworking actor. Despite his limited talent, coupled with his constant, subconscious desire to use his own advantages—such as his looks—he very easily gave people the impression of having thin acting skills and creating one-dimensional characters.

But in the courtroom scene, Billy required an exaggerated style of performance, which instead managed to cover up Tom Cruise's flaws. He made full use of extensive body movements to mask his habit of having stiff facial expressions.

"Roxie, you're partnering with a superstar known for his acting skills!"

Billy's lines might have been a bit of an exaggeration for Tom Cruise's performance, but as far as Duke was concerned, he was much better than the former Richard Gere.

Whether in acting, singing and dancing, emotional resonance, or box office appeal, he completely blew that guy out of the water.

The courtroom scenes were similarly interspersed with a large amount of singing and dancing, most of which were Tom Cruise's solos. That tap dance sequence in particular won him a house full of cheers and proved that his half-year of dance classes had not been in vain.

The dancing was also an intersecting expression of his psychology and reality. The most outstanding aspect of these two segments was the "rhythm"; the rhythm was just right, and the even tempo expressed Billy's state of mind and seasoned defense tactics through dance.

The final result, of course, was that Roxie and Velma both successfully escaped their charges.

"Even at the end, they didn't forget to mock the media."

This was the reaction of many audience members after watching the courtroom scenes. The trial was broadcast live over the radio, and the newspaper offices prepared two completely opposite papers. The moment the news of Roxie's acquittal broke, they immediately sold the corresponding edition.

At the same time, Roxie thought she could become a true celebrity, but having just been the center of attention, she was swiftly abandoned by the media. The media were like sharks, forever chasing the freshest blood.

Amos was the only person left who still valued Roxie, but this ungrateful woman rejected him without hesitation.

Roxie wanted to perform on stage but hit a wall at every turn. Velma sought her out, and faced with cruel reality, Roxie had no choice but to compromise, teaming up with the Velma she disliked to form the "Chicago Murder Sisters" performance duo.

The film had also reached its end. Since it was a musical, the finale was inevitably a grand song and dance.

This song and dance was exceptionally dazzling. Under the spotlights, Roxie and Velma were glowing, looking every bit like genuine stars. Standing before a gorgeous and bewildering backdrop, their dancing was both wild and passionate.

Under the torture of Duke's countless NGs, the final filmed effect of Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta-Jones could be said to be evenly matched, mutually complementing, and even shining in each other's light. In the final moments, both of them shed their film characters' auras to display their own personal charisma. This did not break the audience's immersion at all, but rather increased their respective appeal.

When the stage lights in the film flared to full brightness, the sister duo danced behind the curtain with brisk, playful steps, then returned to the stage carrying White Chicago Typewriters that perfectly matched their silver-white short flapper dresses.

From the theater's speakers came bursts of audience laughter.

The audience in front of the silver screen also laughed out loud, and Whitley even clapped her hands unconsciously. On screen, Roxie and Velma leveled their guns at the light curtain behind them and unleashed a barrage of shots. After the dazzling lights flashed, two large lines of text remained on it: Roxie and Velma.

On the screen, the entire audience's applause thundered. Roxie and Velma had already become massive stars; they stood at the front of the stage, accepting the audience's applause and congratulations.

Off the screen, the live audience's applause also thundered. Just like the audience on screen, they stood up and clapped vigorously, offering their most heartfelt congratulations to the cast and crew seated in the front row.

"Brilliant, unexpectedly brilliant!"

Gru clapped his hands vigorously.

"The director preserved the brilliance of the stage musical, yet added the perfect amount of adaptation," he said to his wife and daughter. "It can make people recall the glory of the original play while delivering a completely fresh experience. Truly remarkable."

"Yes, Dad, it was a fantastic movie."

His twenty-something daughter said frankly, "I originally didn't like this genre of film, but this is entirely different from the musicals of the sixties and seventies. It was incredibly entertaining. I trust your taste now, and I've decided to bring my classmates to see it again this weekend."

The applause on screen had already faded, but the applause off screen had not yet reached its peak. The entire audience stood up, looking toward the cast and crew, and the applause grew louder and faster. Even after a full two minutes had passed, there was no sign of it stopping.

"Robin, notify everyone to go up for the curtain call!"

Following Duke's words, the entire cast and crew stepped onto the stage in front of the silver screen. After four consecutive curtain calls, the applause finally began to subside, and the audience started to slowly exit. With that, Chicago officially stepped onto the grand stage of the North American theater circuit!