3.5 stars. Rated PG, for mild dramatic tension
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 3.13.15
Doubts notwithstanding — and I
had plenty — Disney has done a respectable job, with this live-action update of
its own 1950 animated classic.
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| Ella (Lily James, left), surprised to learn that invitations to the upcoming palace ball will be extended to every maiden in the realm, wonders how she might escape her stepmother's clutches, in order to attend. For their part, stepsisters Drisella (Sophie McShera, center) and Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) immediately vow to win the prince's hand in marriage. |
Kenneth Branagh’s presence in the
director’s chair certainly helps; it stands to reason that the Irish
Renaissance man who brought Shakespearean regality to 2011’s Thor could grant
(let’s be candid) a fairy-tale trifle with the same degree of dramatic heft.
In lesser hands, Thor could
have sunk beneath the weight of its laughably pompous dialogue and overwrought
premise ... but no, Branagh gave it class. He does the same here, with this fresh
interpretation of Cinderella.
To be sure, he had able
assistance, starting with a solid script from writer/director Chris Weitz,
still best known for his 2002 adaptation of Nick Hornby’s About a Boy. Weitz’s take on Cinderella is a little bit Grimm (as in Brothers) and a
little bit Disney, with a soupçon of modern feminist sparkle. The resulting
narrative is appropriately cheerful, poignant, bleak and swooningly romantic,
as needs must.
With respect to the latter, wait
until you catch Cinderella’s arrival at the Prince’s ball: Rarely has a character
been afforded so splendid an entrance, and rarely has a director milked a scene
with such unapologetic oomph.
Which brings us to this film’s
young star: Lily James, who makes a flawless Cinderella. She’s eminently
believable as an unassuming country lass, albeit one who’s well-read and
possesses the perceptive wit of a Jane Austen heroine. At the same time, James
“cleans up” marvelously, when a bit of Fairy Godmothering transforms ash-begrimed
Cinder-Ella into a breathtaking vision who transfixes all in her presence.
James has a natural ingenuousness
that Branagh employs to full effect: the sort of sweet sincerity that Christopher
Reeve brought to Superman, when he spoke of fighting for “truth, justice and
the American way.” Nobody laughed when Reeve delivered that iconic line; well,
nobody laughs here either, when James’ Ella — recalling a promise made years
back, to her mother — resolutely insists on facing the world with “courage ...
and kindness.”
Pronounced just like that, with a
slight pause between the two attributes. Again, the sort of statement that, if
delivered even the slightest bit wrong, would prompt snickers from our oh-so-sophisticated
21st century audiences.
Trust me: No laughter erupted
during Monday evening’s preview screening (at least, not at that particular
moment). Indeed, the audience lapped it up. It would appear that Disney’s
current run of “princess power” has yet to subside.
Good as James is, though, she’s
well-met on the fairy-tale battlefield by Cate Blanchett’s deliciously haughty,
ferociously malicious Stepmother: an archetype so quietly sinister, that she
isn’t even granted an actual name. Blanchett’s Stepmother isn’t given to
theatrical flourishes — think Glenn Close’s Cruella De Vil, in 1996’s live-action 101 Dalmatians — but instead purrs with the smug, malevolent satisfaction of
a villain who knows that she holds all the high cards.
Blanchett’s presence further
enhances that classically Shakespearean tone I referenced earlier; the same is
true of magisterial Derek Jacobi, who radiates the noble wisdom that one would
expect from the King of this land in a faraway place, at a long-ago time.
With all these elements in place,
and utilized with such precision, how could this project miss?
Answer: It doesn’t.
Actually, there’s another element
for which Branagh and Weitz deserve praise. Classic Grimm’s fairy tales are
laden with tragedy, and can get quite nasty, even gory. Turning them into
animated musicals — as beloved Uncle Walt did, during his prime — blunted the
pathos and ferocity, allowing viewers to appreciate the storylines from a safe emotional
distance.
Bringing such a tale into the
live-action realm, and encouraging us to identify so firmly with a heroine as
enchanting as James’ Ella, runs the risk of overwhelming us with dour, dreary
and downright depressing details. But Branagh and Weitz walk that line quite
cleverly, depicting the frequent heartbreak that poor Ella experiences, while
nonetheless maintaining an overall cheery, even optimistic tone. That’s an
impressive bit of atmospheric legerdemain.
So: Once upon a time...
Evil stepmothers don’t appear
from thin air, of course, and so we’re introduced to Ella as the happy child of
two doting parents (Ben Chaplin and Hayley Atwell). They’re archetypes, like
many characters in this story, and known simply as Father and Mother.
Ella (Eloise Webb, in these early
scenes) is a precocious and kind-hearted little girl, with an affinity for
animals: a sensitivity that Mother both believes in, and encourages. But Ella
doesn’t get much time to absorb such wisdom, for — alas — Mother isn’t long for
this world.
Time passes, during which Ella
matures into a young woman; Father eventually marries anew. Enter Stepmother
and her hilariously repulsive teenage daughters, Anastasia (Holliday Grainger)
and Drisella (Sophie McShera, immediately recognized as Daisy, on TV’s Downton
Abbey). Decorum of a sort is maintained for awhile, with Father still on the
premises; all too soon, though, business affairs take him farther and farther
afield ... at which point, Ella is banished to the attic, and then, inevitably,
gets downgraded to a sort of scullery maid.
A chance encounter with the
dashing Kit (Richard Madden) brightens Ella’s otherwise dreary existence: a meet-cute
moment she handles with a level of candor that she likely would have squelched,
had she realized that she was talking to the prince of her land. (Kit,
immediately sensing this, is coy about his actual identity.)
Back at the palace, both the King
and Grand Duke (Stellan Skarsgård) insist that Kit must take a bride, in order
to properly “secure” the kingdom. (Against what, remains somewhat hazy.) The King,
a doting father, is sympathetic to his son’s desire to marry for love, rather
than political advantage; the scheming Grand Duke has plans of his own.
The palace Captain of the Guard
(Nonso Anozie, both cherubic and stern), definitely on Kit’s side, quietly
hopes that Things Will Work Out.
Clearly doing his best to stall,
Kit proposes that they hold a grand ball, but with a twist: one open not merely
to the titled and wealthy, but with invitations extended to every maiden in the
realm. (We cannot help but wonder at the size of that guest list...!)
Cue Ella’s joyful desire to
attend, if only in one of her mother’s hand-me-down dresses; cue this film’s
harshest scene, as Stepmother and her spiteful daughters do their best to
prevent that.
Ah, but Ella has a fallback
option, of which she isn’t initially aware: an actual Fairy Godmother who can
do rather miraculous things while uttering the mysterious incantation of “Bippity
boppity boo” (a phrase that prompted its own song, in the animated film). Fairy
Godmother is played with goofy zest by Helena Bonham Carter, who has a ball
with the role. As do we.
Carter also narrates the entire
film, bridging various sequences with mildly (and amusingly) barbed commentary.
Finally, Ella also has a quartet
of diminutive friends on her side: the four mice who’ve become pets during her
exile in the attic. They don’t all have names like Jaq, Gus and Bruno, as was
the case in 1950, but they certainly have distinctive personalities; their
behavior and hijinks give this film plenty of droll moments.
Let it be said, as well, that
these mice are a marvel of subtle CGI wizardry; it’s hard not to believe
they’re real mice ... except for the fact that they’re rather more clever than
the mice in our attic.
The CGI enhancements become much
more buffoonish when it comes time for Fairy Godmother to concoct Ella’s coach,
white horses and footmen: the one time this film veers dangerously close to the
sort of slapstick overkill that could wreck the entire endeavor. Branagh
clearly understands this, while also recognizing the need to grant viewers an
appropriate level of hilarious chaos when the clock begins to peal midnight.
All in all, he walks the fine
line pretty well: a statement that applies equally to his film as a whole. This
new-and-improved Cinderella could have fumbled, fallen and flopped half a
dozen times, for an equal number of reasons; somehow, Branagh avoided the
obvious pitfalls while delivering a thoroughly charming, audience-friendly
telling of this (originally) 17th century fable.
And I do mean audience-friendly.
Monday’s preview audience participated with the enthusiasm of patrons at an
old-style stage melodrama, audibly hissing at some of Blanchett’s snarkier
lines, clapping when Ella (finally!) stands up to her, and cheering when the
lights came up and the credits began to roll.
You just don’t experience that
very often, these days.
As a quick sidebar, this film
opens with a delightful Disney cartoon short — Frozen Fever — which is a
7-minute treat. The premise finds Elsa, Kristoff and Olaf attempting to give Anna
the birthday party she never enjoyed while growing up ... but things go awry as
Elsa gradually succumbs to a minor cold and fever.
Because strange things happen
when an ice princess sneezes...
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