3.5 stars. Rated PG, for fantasy violence
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 3.17.17
This is a curious beast.
Try as she might, Belle (Emma Watson) cannot dissuade Gaston (Luke Evans) from attempting to win her hand in marriage. Sadly, this dynamic will become quite uncomfortable, once Gaston becomes vengeful. |
Every frame of director Bill
Condon’s film looks terrific. Sarah Greenwood’s production design is
breathtaking, from the gingerbread quaintness of Belle’s adorable town of
Villeneuve; to the Lovecraftian opulence of the Beast’s labyrinthine castle,
with all of its brooding corridors and shambling minarets; to the darkly
spooky, wintry forest that separates the two.
Visual effects producer Steve
Gaub seamlessly integrates the live-action characters with their enchanted
comrades, and the voice acting is superlative: Ewan McGregor as the
ever-gracious candelabra, Lumière; Emma Thompson as the kindly teapot, Mrs.
Potts; Ian McKellen as the blustery mantel clock, Cogsworth; Stanley Tucci as
the defiant harpsichord, Maestro Cadenza; Audra McDonald as the operatic,
overly enthusiastic wardrobe, Madame de Garderobe; and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as the
coquettish feather-duster, Plumette.
The primary characters are
equally well cast, their performances admirably suited to the story’s
fairy-tale atmosphere. Luke Evans steals the show as the arrogant, boorish
Gaston, determined to wed Belle by any means necessary; the always impish Josh
Gad — apparently Disney’s new secret weapon — gets all the best lines as
Gaston’s snarky sidekick, LeFou.
Kevin Kline is sublime as Belle’s
doting father, Maurice: a role that easily could slide into cliché, with all of
the aging gentleman’s quirks, eccentricities and easily flustered nature. But
Kline surmounts such stereotyping with a persuasive blend of dignity, devotion
and vulnerability; he sets a new standard.
It’s difficult to determine how
much credit Dan Stevens deserves, as the Beast, given that he’s completely
concealed beneath Jenny Shircore’s extraordinary make-up. But we’re seeing
plenty of evidence of Stevens’ extensive acting chops, on TV’s Legion, so I’m willing to believe that
he deserves plaudits for the credibility of the Beast’s complex emotional
swing. And Stevens certainly does a lot with his eyes and voice, giving us the
very definition of a tragic, doomed character.
And then there’s Belle, the
story’s anchor, played with pluck, sincerity and resourcefulness by Emma
Watson. Belle is delightfully bookish and ingenuous as the story begins, and
yet bold enough to reject Gaston to his face; Watson’s early scenes with Evans
are marvelous, as Belle struggles to remain polite while her eyes convey utter
disgust for this boastful creep.
Later, forced to remain in the
castle alongside a horrific monster, Watson blends Belle’s understandable fright
with genuine anger: How dare this
Beast imprison her so, and expect her to obey his every snarling whim.
Goodness, he’s no better than Gaston!
But of course the Beast is better, and Watson delicately handles
Belle’s essential transformation, as she perceives the misleading nature of
outwardly appearances. Gaston may be the hunkiest, most attractive man in
Villeneuve, but he has the black heart of a true beast: as opposed to her host,
whose grotesque exterior cannot fully conceal a remorseful soul who has learned
— the hard way — that a little kindness goes a long way.
It all sounds perfect, right?
And yet ... and yet...
Condon isn’t one for subtlety, as
demonstrated by previous films such as Dreamgirls,
Gods and Monsters and the final Twilight entries. He too frequently goes
for thunderous, overwrought opulence, most notably during several of this
story’s most famous production numbers. That might be appropriate for a stage
production hoping to reach the back row of the third balcony, but it’s rather
overwhelming in a film.
More damagingly, music supervisor
Matt Sullivan’s orchestrations are way
over the top, to the point that the symphonic bombast obscures the Howard
Ashman lyrics that we love so much; this is particularly true of the songs
“Gaston” and “Be Our Guest.” Music editor Robin Morrison deserves equal blame;
the music/vocal mix is quite poor at times.
Then there’s the matter of
pacing.
The original 1991 film, while
definitely a musical, got by with a modest half a dozen Ashman/Alan Menken
songs: each one eminently hummable and lyrically ingenious. They were more than
enough for an animated film that ran an economical and just-right 84 minutes.
But a full-length stage production needed more, so Menken supplemented those
six songs with a seventh that had been cut from the film, and then wrote
another six in collaboration with new lyricist Tim Rice. (Ashman died shortly after
completing work on the animated film.)
The result obviously worked on
Broadway, where the show ran for 5,461 performances between 1994 and 2007.
But just as a stage play has
requirements that distinguish it from an animated film, a live-action film
demands an approach that differs from a stage musical. No surprise, then, that
Condon dropped several of the Broadway add-ons ... but he also added three more Ashman/Rice songs written
specifically for this live-action film. (How many musical scores have evolved
in such a complicated manner?)
The final tally — it’s actually
hard to keep track — finds 11 songs in this new film, but that’s deceptive;
three of them are heard twice ... and three are heard yet again, during the
voluminous end credits.
It’s too much music. The film
drags, particularly during the second half, and the 129-minute running time
begins to feel self-indulgent. By the time Stevens delivers the Beast’s
third-act lament — “Evermore” — we’re definitely thinking nevermore.
A post-climax epilogue feels
particularly superfluous. Many things were perfect back in 1991, thank you very
much; pacing was high on that list.
Additionally, while Watson is a
grand choice for her role’s dramatic scenes, the same cannot be said for her
singing. Her playful, tentative delivery is fine — and in character — for
gentler songs such as “Days in the Sun” and “Something There.” But the
character is introduced, as the film opens, with the song named after her: a
knock-the-house-down belter that Paige O’Hara delivered with gusto in the
animated film ... and which Watson cannot begin to duplicate here. More’s the
pity.
That song’s staging still is
delightful, as we meet so many of Villeneuve’s residents, with Tobias A.
Schliessler’s camera deftly tracking through the town’s streets and central
square. And, no question, the sizable chorus does much to enhance the song’s
charm and enthusiasm. But many of the key lyrics are Watson’s alone, and ...
well ... the result lacks the original film’s pizzazz.
(Must this be an ongoing broken
record? La La Land might have won
that Oscar for Best Picture, had all concerned hired two stars who could sing
and dance with gusto.)
There are moments, as well, when
Condon fails to maintain the essential dramatic bridge that separates his
actors from their SFX comrades. “Be Our Guest” is staged with Belle sitting at
one end of a large table, where she is regaled by Lumière, Mrs. Potts and all
the enchanted dining implements. Unfortunately, Watson isn’t really involved
with the scene; she frequently looks like a deer in the headlights, uncertain
where to glance, and showing little of the amazed delight that one would
expect.
Such lapses aside, there’s no
denying the film’s core theatrical energy, and its ability to suck us into the
narrative. We’re fully invested in the relationship between Belle and her
father — Kline providing so much poignant sensitivity — and only viewers made
of stone could fail to be moved by the climactic finale (even if Condon milks
it too much).
Then, too, there’s no doubt that
Disney’s legion of fans — particularly those obsessed with “princess power” —
will find no fault with this film. Goodness, they’d probably be delighted if it
ran even longer.
But
I suspect that many of us, with such fond memories of the 1991 classic, will
feel compelled to return to it, after having seen this live-action update. In
order to once again see the story done right.
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