When I was a little girl Cinderella was my absolute favorite movie, I liked the pretty princess, the handsome prince, the cute singing mice and the general idea of becoming a princess. Years later, I still love Cinderella, but in a different way. The story is just so appealing, because it gives some hope for us single girls — that any person whomever they are can have a chance for love and be whisked away by a handsome prince to a ball. Well, the last part may not be as realistic, but it’s still a great fantasy. That is why when Disney announed that they were making a live action Cinderella film with “Downton Abbey” actress Lily James as Cinderella, I was beyond excited.
Released in theatres on March 13th, I went to go see the romantic fantasy over spring break, and thought it was excellent. The first half of the movie takes a good amount of time exploring the depth of Ella’s character. It explains why Ella is so kind and generous to even the evilest of stepsisters, when her mother gives her the advice to always, “have courgage and be kind.” Even though the movie was only rated PG, it still had some quite dark and emotionas scenes. For instance when Ella’s mother dies of a unknown sickness, and eventually when her dad is taken by illess as well, I found myself holding back tears. The kids in the theatre may have not registered the serious emotional toll it took on Ella’s orphaned – slave life, but it did provide a good amount of background information versus the animated film, where you simply see Cinderella sobbing on a bed.
Despite Ella’s malicious and cruel stepmother, you can’t help but appreciate the awesome and twisted portrayl thats given by Cate Blanchette. With movie villians, there is always a good reason behinde what they do, and this re-introdution with Lady Tremaine explores the stepmothers methods behinde the madness. Blanchett is dressed in costumes that reflect her thorny demeanor as well with a 50’s femme fatale vibe. Her newly inherited stepsisters aren’t as cruel and are more dimwitted and uneloquent. They are the one’s though who dub Ella as “Cinderella” when she gets ash on her face.
However, an image out of Ella’s dreams comes when she meets the handsome prince in the forrest. The story then follows true to the original story line, and features Helena Bohem-Carter as the cooky stepmother in one of my favorite scenes of the movie. Although she doesn’t sing “bibity bobity boo” she mananges to create a stylsish coach for Ella to attend the royal ball of the kingdom. After making footmen out of lizards, a driver. out of a goose, she livens up Ella’s handmade gown to a magical blue corsetted dress, that looks as if it floats on air, along with a pair of glass slippers of course. Overall, this re-boot of Cinderella made me fall in love again with the whole story. The costumes and set design were magical, and the fimography made me feel like I attended the enchanting ball with Cinderella herself, who is eventually able to accept who she is, fit the shoe, and marry the prince, and live happily ever after.
“Cinderella.” Rated PG, 105 minutes. Review conclusion: 7 stars (or 7 pairs of swarovski crystal slippers!).