Cinderella Review

2015 in film

Mar 11

Written By Rendy Jones

Preview

PG: Mild Thematic Elements

Disney

1 hr and 45 Minutes

Cast: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi, Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera,Hayley Atwell, Ben Chaplin, with Nonso Anozie, and Stellan Skarsgård

Editor’s Note: This review was originally published during my adolescence. Outdated language might be seen in these old posts. Since then, my thoughts and values have grown. This review is being presented as they were originally written, grammatical errors and typos and all. Because to do otherwise would be that same as claiming these flaws has never existed.

BACKSTORY: Because Disney has a hard on releasing movies on my birthday (2009 they released Race to Witch Mountain and this year they released Cinderella), I go to a screening of Cinderella on March 10th 2015.

STORYLINE: The story of "Cinderella" follows the fortunes of young Ella whose merchant father remarries following the tragic death of her mother. Keen to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother Lady Tremaine and her daughters Anastasia and Drizella into the family home. But when Ella's father suddenly and unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of a jealous and cruel new family. Finally relegated to nothing more than a servant girl covered in ashes, and spitefully renamed Cinderella since she used to work in the cinders, Ella could easily begin to lose hope. Yet, despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella is determined to honor her mother's dying words and to "have courage and be kind." She will not give in to despair nor despise those who abuse her. And then there is the dashing stranger she meets in the woods. Unaware that he is really a prince, not merely an employee at the palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred soul. It appears as if her fortunes may be about to change when the palace sends out an open invitation for all maidens to attend a ball, raising Ella's hopes of once again encountering the charming "Kit." Alas, her stepmother forbids her to attend and callously rips apart her dress. But as in all good fairy tales, help is at hand as a kindly beggar woman steps forward and, armed with a pumpkin and a few mice, changes Cinderella's life forever.

REVIEW: Disney is known for pulling off fantastical magic with strong female characters. 2013 we were introduced to Elsa and Anna, 2014 we were re-introduced to Maleficent, but her film didn't feature strong supporting characters such as her. Now we're re-introduced to Cinderella and I'll be damned Disney isn't on a mission to make the new generation of girls total feminists. Where the animated version of Cinderella is broad and generic in the princess genre this live action version is as impactful in its female empowerment as Frozen. This film isn't Disney's Cinderella but feels more as Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella, because without this passionate direction this film would've been as basic as the 1950s version. The production is visually astounding and the cinematography is beautiful. What makes this so dazzling is that almost every person in this film has character. When you ask yourself why Cinderella has to be a pushover to her step-family, the film gives you a smart answer as you can't answer back to. So when you see her struggle you can feel her emotions. Surprisingly the prince known as Kit in the film has character compared to every prince in these type of films. When you see him and Ella interact with one another it is very innocently adorable. But none of this matters compared to the brilliant performance of Cate Blanchett. The character of the wicked stepmother may be one dimensional but the expression and movement she shows, makes her performance excellent amongst the entire cast. The movie is faulty with it's odd tonal shifting, because there are very comedic scenes, but immediately it cuts to a very sad plot point that has you going "WTF I was just laughing there don't force sadness on me!" Plus this film features as many death scenes as sex scenes of Fifty Shades. By the time you see another character die, you're just there emotionless waiting for the film to go on. I commend the film to not feature the music the original one did, but at least one musical moment (mainly bippity boppity boop) would've helped since most of the film feels quiet. There are great visual effects displayed, but it is weird especially the transformation of the animals.

LAST STATEMENT: Passionately directed with astonishing production design and characters played by a charismatic cast , Cinderella is an empowerful remake that only the magic of Disney can perfect.