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    Cinderella

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    I hadn’t seen the 2015 remake of Disney’s "Cinderella" since it left theaters. I remember enjoying it then. Seeing it again, it rubbed me the wrong way. It may be because it set a precedent for one (bad) Disney live-action remake after another or because at the time, I hadn’t seen the 1950s original in years. While this "Cinderella" features gorgeous costumes, terrific cinematography and solid performances, movies are about more than getting the technical details right. It’s about how they make you feel, and this feels wrong.

    Ella “Cinderella” (Lilly James) lives like a servant/slave in the service of her step sisters Drisella & Anastasia (Sophie McShera & Holliday Grainger) as well as her wicked stepmother (Cate Blanchett). Despite her servitude, Cinderella keeps a heart full of hope and kindness. When the kingdom’s young prince (Richard Madden) invites all eligible women to a royal ball in the hopes of finding himself a bride, Cinderella is forced to stay home… until her fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) magically appears.

    In many ways, this is a faithful retelling of the story, with just enough tweaks to prevent it from being a carbon copy. The most obvious difference is that this is a live-action picture rather than an animated one. The different medium has caused the animal sidekicks to disappear almost entirely, along with the musical numbers and the humour. How does it manage a 106-minute running time then? By spending much more time during Ella’s childhood and having the Prince and her meet before the ball. We also get Lady Tremaine’s backstory, and another villain, played by Stellan Skarsgård.

    In many ways, the original Cinderella fairy tale is dated (how could it not be when versions of it appeared in ancient Egypt?). The protagonist is not an active character in the sense that the biggest obstacle in front of her - the servitude she’s been forced into by her stepmother - is magically removed by someone other than her. Like many fairy tales, it also operates under the assumption that villains are irredeamably evil, while good people will instantly fall in a love that will last forever. That’s the point. "Cinderella" is a fairytale, a simple story with a simple moral: remain kind no matter what - if you do, you will be rewarded. For all of the criticisms I’m about to throw towards Kenneth Branaugh’s version of this story, I will grant it that this message remains intact. It is also a great-looking film, particularly when we get to that fateful ball with the golden pumpkin-turned-carriage, Cinderella’s dress, the Prince’s uniform, etc.

    This film is trapped in an awkward space. It wants to be taken seriously. This is why it’s made with live actors, why the songs have been excised, why the animal friends are largely gone and the characters are given more motivations for being evil or falling in love. Unfortunately, trying to make this material "grown up" does it no favours. Cinderella no longer has anthropomorphized animal she can talk to, but she can't be talking to herself like a crazy person so there’s a lot of narration over the film to fill in the gaps and tell us why people are doing certain things or how they feel. The way we see Cinderella demonstrating her kindness towards the mice that remain is awkward. In an animated movie, mice can have human-like features, clothes, personalities and voices. When Cinderella 50s took care of them, you became endeared to her. Here, mice are just… vermin Cinderella likes.

    This movie was made in 2015 and it’s already showing its age. Outside of the phyisical props, sets, costumes, etc. the visuals don’t look right, particularly when the lizards, birds and rodents she befriends are enchanted. The lack of songs removes a certain enchanting quality from the picture; now, the movie is only what we see on-screen, and nothing more. This makes you question so much of what you see, like "Why did Lady Tremaine banish Cinderella to the attic when her father is expected to return soon? Isn’t she worried the father who loves his daughter more than anything in the world (seriously, it’s pretty much all he talks about) will get mad when he returns? "

    There’s a reason the animated film began with Cinderella already orphaned and in a state of servitude; we don’t need to know how long it took for her situation to degrade to the present level, or even why Lady Tremaine is the way she is. In Walt Disney's original masterpiece, the villainess arrives fully formed. She's cruel and manipulative. That’s why we like her. This picture makes the mistake of telling us all about the way she lost her true love. This to make her more sympathetic and human… but she’s also made more evil. She's so wicked you wouldn’t be shocked if she peeled off her skin to reveal an unfeeling machine underneath. Most frustrating is that you can see how her character would work. You can imagine a credible reason for her to envy Cinderella's future as a member of the royal family. Instead, Stepmother resents Cinderella because she's kind and… young? I know this film is set in the past when people's standards were different but this film has magic fairies in it. Has anyone taken a look at Cate Blanchett? She could compete for the Prince herself! She doesn't need her daughters!

    I’m not sure if any of my arguments will strike a chord with you. As I said, what sinks this picture isn’t the special effects, story, characters, running time, or the changes made; it’s the way it makes you feel. Ultimately, this movie is inferior to its predecessor. No one will remember this "Cinderella" down the line, or prefer it to the original. Why then, should you bother with it? Why was it even made in the first place? (July 14, 2021)

    5
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    adamwatchesmovies@  31.3.2015 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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