‘All That Jazz’ takes you into a world of creativity and exposes you to an exciting and disturbing on-the-edge life that produces brilliance on stage and screen, but in doing so, eats away at its own emotional and physical existence bit by bit.The story revolves around Joe Gideon, a Broadway theatre director and choreographer and takes us into the climactic chapter of his personal life that has long suffered in the shadows of his illustrious professional career. Gideon is editing his big-screen film and preparing for a Broadway musical. In the backdrop is his failing health, complicated by chain-smoking, dependency on psycho-stimulants and a never-ending appetite for sex.
He is also a struggling father, trying to give his young daughter a piece of his attention, divided largely between work, women and exes. The plot takes you through rehearsals, sexually motivated nepotisms and politics galore, while showing you the gradual inability of Gideon’s body to do what his mind wants the most. “Show Time!”.
The film is a semi-autobiographical work of Bob Fosse, chronicling his own experiences as a dancer, choreographer and director. Gideon is seen throughout the film, reflecting on his life, conversing with a beautiful woman, presumed to be Death herself. Through these conversations, his childhood, adolescence and adulthood are lived through, interspersed with generous doses of music and jazz ballet rehearsals. Fosse explores this complex world of loose moralities and excesses and shows how an artist’s quest for inspiration can produce great work, but at the same time destroy him personally.
His use of music and dance to capture key sequences in the plot are brilliant. The film’s score, particularly the ‘Take off with us’ piece is brilliant in its transformation from a straightforward advert for an airline to an orgy like value proposition in the end. The plot follows a non-linear timeline. It is like being in the final act of a play, waiting for the earlier acts to complete. The production values are excellent. In many ways Fosse has transformed a stage production to film and his use of stage elements like backdrops is superb.
Roy Schieder, sheds his tough guy image, built with films like ‘French Connection’ and ‘Jaws’ to slip into the body of a dancer. With his lithe frame, almost anorexic, he moves like a pro and portrays the nonchalant attitude of Gideon in the face of imminent collapse superbly. This is Schieder’s best role, for which he was nominated for an Oscar.
If you like musicals, here is a dark one for you.