Review: Cinderella (2015)

Okay I actually watched this last week, but my internet was down, so I’m posting it now.

Go figure.

Kenneth Branagh’s live action adaptation/remake of the original 1950 Disney version of Cinderella manages to capture the spirit of the original almost perfectly, while still being able to stand on it’s own as a film.

It’s obvious from the get-go that Branagh has an intense love and respect towards the original film, and it shines through every frame of the film. From Harris Zambarloukos’ rich and sumptuous cinematography, to Sandy Powell’s stupendously beautiful costume designs, Branagh infuses the film with the aura of a classic fairy tale, without it seeming garish or trite. He gives the film an almost fairy-like lightness and ease to the proceedings, while also getting great performances out of his cast.

The screenplay does an excellent job at fleshing out the characters, especially Cinderella and Kit (our Prince Charming). On top of that, it has absolutely no desire to subvert or deconstruct the themes and spirit of the original, instead delighting in the classic, timeless message of love and perseverance. On occasion, some of the humor is a tad forced, but it never feels horrifically distracting or takes away from the film.

Lily James does a beautiful job in portraying Cinderella’s innocence and purity, without it feeling trite or disingenuous. Instead, she feels like she really is this wonderfully pure, and James is able to handle the more emotionally vulnerable parts excellently as well.

Richard Madden does an excellent job at playing Kit, our Prince Charming who finally has a name. Like Lily James’ performance, Madden doesn’t try to subvert or infuse his character with anything other then a genuine sense of decency, respect and, well, charm. His chemistry with James is organic, and you really buy their romance.

The real showstealer, however, is Cate Blanchett, who delights in playing the viciously evil Lady Tremaine. Instead of the cold, distant aura of the original, Blanchett instead decides to really have fun in the role, and it works perfectly. It also helps that the film doesn’t play her for laughs, even if she’s an exaggerated figure. Her emotional abuse of Cinderella is played entirely straight, and yet doesn’t clash with the light aura of the film either, but rather adds a necessary undercurrent to ground the proceedings.

Helena Bonham Carter is quite a bit of fun as our fairy godmother, and it’s always a joy to watch her be weird and quirky in the way only she can. She doesn’t grate, and her humor is nice and fun.

The rest of the cast all have fun, with previous Branagh collaborators Derek Jacobi and Stellan Skarsgard giving great turns, and the twin step-sisters being a blast as well.

The music by long time Branagh collaborator Patrick Doyle is absolutely beautiful, incorporating the old tune of ‘Lavender Blue’ quite well, and keeping with unabashedly romanticized fairy tale aura of the film.

So yes, in the end, the 2015 Cinderella is a wonderful homage/remake to the original, and a vastly superior effort then the disastrous and borderline offensive Maleficent, which deconstructed Sleeping Beauty to the point where it felt almost like it hated itself. But here, Cinderella is firmly in love with it’s fairy tale origins, and embraces them, showing us why we love these stories in the first place, and why no amount of deconstruction or revisionism can destroy that.

5 out of 5 stars.

Comments

[iowaforever]

So this does everything Maleficent should have done? Almost makes me want to watch it.

I say almost because Cinderella was never one of my favorite Disney movies. I'm just afraid my previous biases might cloud my judgment