Chicago

Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly are two showgirls in 1920s Chicago whose lives collide after each becomes accused of murder. Locked up together, they spar for attention, courting sensational headlines that might tilt public opinion. A slick, headline-hungry lawyer named Billy Flynn turns courtroom strategy into theater, promising stardom as a way out. The film stages their rivalry against a backdrop of vaudeville glamour, corrupt officials and a hungry press, with musical set pieces underscoring how performance and publicity can shape truth without revealing how any case ultimately ends.

Directed by Rob Marshall, Chicago adapts the stage musical by Kander and Ebb, with a screenplay by Bill Condon. The film channels Bob Fosse inspired choreography and stars Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere and Queen Latifah.

Chicago earned multiple Academy Awards, most notably Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones, along with a number of other nominations and industry honors that underscored its impact at the 2003 Oscars.

The film's visual style and its numbers like "All That Jazz" and "Cell Block Tango" became widely referenced, and its success helped bring the large scale musical back into Hollywood's mainstream. Its stylized staging and cynical take on celebrity have been parodied and echoed in later pop culture, from TV sketches to stage revivals.

Critics generally gave Chicago positive reviews, reflected in audience scores and a 7.1 average from viewers. Commentators praised the performances, especially Zeta-Jones's showstopping turns and Queen Latifah's commanding presence, while noting the film's satire of media spectacle, fame and the legal system. The movie mixes glamour with moral ambiguity, asking whether notoriety can be mistaken for justice, and how performance can rewrite reality.