It wasn’t even a year ago when Disney’s infamous Sleeping Beauty villain received a feminist makeover and became a relatable, sympathetic heroine in Robert Stromberg’s Maleficent. The worldwide phenomenon called Frozen only recently redefined true love as a sisterly bond, disrupting the norms of a passive princess figure, and continuing the tradition of Pixar’s Brave, whose Merida claimed her own destiny and denounced the need of a love interest. But someone over at Disney must have decided they’d had enough with these liberal, revisionist fairy tales, as their latest adaptation of Cinderella is unapologetically loyal to its old-fashioned damsel-in-distress roots. Yet surprisingly, the tale’s outdated premise finds an unexpected magical touch in the hands of director Kenneth Branagh (not a name one would immediately think of for the cinematic retelling of a fairy tale) and writer Chris Weitz. The live-action film celebrates the magic of love at first sight while shamelessly depicting Cinderella swirling in an elegant blue gown in an enchanted world of dazzling eye candy.
The story goes according to tradition. Young and beautiful Ella (the fittingly innocent-looking, soft-spoken Lily James), loses her mother at a young age, who raised her with the pure, humanistic principle to “have courage and be kind.” Her father passes away several years later, but not until he marries the cold-hearted widow Lady Tremaine (the fabulous Cate Blanchett). Ella finds herself in the abusive company of this evil stepmother and two equally rotten stepsisters, Drizella and Anastasia (Sophie McShera and Holliday Grainger). Friendly to everyone, including the common pesticides of her household, and depicted as a symbol of endurance, Ella shoulders the burden of being pushed to the sidelines by her new malevolent family, accepts the attic as her living quarters, and doesn’t protest against any of the housework she’s unfairly ordered to take on. But of course, she meets a Prince Charming, Kit (Richard Madden), when she defends and saves the life of a stag from Kit’s hunters, knocking him off his feet in a brief moment in which she is allowed some spunk and a voice of her own. His encounter with the mystery girl predictably cut short, Kit pledges to find her and decides to open the invitation of his upcoming ball to all the women in his kingdom. As we already know, Ella’s family makes it impossible for her to attend the festivities.
Admittedly, neither Weitz’s script nor the tale’s Fairy Godmother (played superbly by Helena Bonham Carter with her signature quirk) grants Ella sufficient opportunities to be an active female figure. Thus, generally, and as the original tale goes, she passively waits around for the right moment to make her presence known (which isn’t until the shoe fits) and doesn’t hide her desire to be rescued. She is sadly far from Queen Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle. What Branagh and Weitz lack in updating Cinderella with realistic standards, they make up for just a little by not completely giving in to gender stereotypes elsewhere. They aim to flesh out Kit ever so slightly as a young man trapped between his true feelings and his kingdom’s expectations. Their Lady Tremaine—in possession of a to-die-for wardrobe and mannerisms reminiscent of old Hollywood icons—receives a small alteration too, with a backstory that Blanchett delivers with assurance and precision, managing to attract some sympathy in the end. For all the story’s untrendy archaisms, Cinderella’s stunning production design astonishes, and Sandy Powell’s jaw-dropping, gorgeous costumes (be prepared to hear her name in next year’s awards season) prove to be as scene-transforming as any of the special effects that occur at the touch of Fairy Godmother’s magic wand.
True, this Cinderella doesn’t walk in the feminist footsteps of her recent predecessors. Maybe it’s because she dropped a shoe somewhere along the way. In the meantime, there is no harm in getting yourself momentarily overjoyed and swept away by all the magic. Just don’t take any of it too seriously.
