Film Review: Cinderella (2015).

Hi everyone, I am so sorry for being absent on here for literally an entire month but I've had lot on due to my health and I had to have an operation which I'm still recovering from but I have a film review for you today!

I went along to see Cinderella because I love Disney so much and the 1950 cartoon version was lovely and beautifully animated. I'll give you the background like I usually do and then give you my thoughts about the film.

The Background

2015 Cinderella is a romantic fantasy film from a screeplay written by Chris Weitz. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the film stars Lily James as the beautiful Ella ('Cinderella'), Cate Blanchett as the Wicked Stepmother, Richard Madden as Prince Charming, Sophie McShera as Drisella, Holliday Grainger as Anastasia and Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother. The films follows and uses many of the same elements from Walt Disney's 1950 animated film of the same name but with a few differences.

Ella, as a young child, lives with her parents in a beautiful house in a quiet kingdom and from a young age she is taught by her mother to believe in magic, fairy godmothers and to be courageous and kind. Through this she is able to befriend animals on the estate, mainly the mice and become kind and caring. However the tranquillity is broken one day when her mother tragically dies and her father, years later, marries Lady Tremaine (Blanchett) who brings along her two daughters who are unpleasant to Ella despite her determination to remain polite and welcoming.

Tragedy strikes again and Ella's father dies while travelling and Ella is left to become a slave for her stepmother and her two daughters. One day, upon meeting Ella in the forest, Prince Charming sends out invitations to everyone to the kingdom to meet her again. When Lady Tremaine and her daughters force Ella to stay at home, she seeks the help from her Fairy Godmother who helps her go to the ball to meet her destiny.

My Thoughts

I absolutely loved the film although it was a little cheesy and twee at times but I quickly remembered it was pretty much a child's film. It left me nostalgic for my own childhood and it completely re-invented how I always saw Cinderella. Lily James was very beautiful and probably perfect to be Cinderella but her acting was a little airy and fairy sometimes however she completely changed my mind at the end when she stood up to the Wicked Stepmother and got her well-deserved happy ending. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see Cate Blanchett take on the role of the Wicked Stepmother as I had absolutely no idea who was going to be her. She absolutely shone in her role and really made you believe she was completely vile and wicked. Her costumes throughout the film were absolutely stunning and I really wanted to be wearing them myself! The stepsisters added a nice comedic element though-out the film also.

Helena Bonham Carter is one of my favourite actresses of all time and she was exquisite and dazzling as the Fairy Godmother like I knew she would be. She narrated the film throughout and made the transforming scene hilarious but magical and magnificent. 

The film's visual effects and costume design were definitely Oscar worthy because I could not take my eyes off Blanchett's dresses and Cinderella's dress was a dazzling blue that sparkled throughout Lily's scenes. Kenneth Branagh, as the director, completely transformed Cinderella and proved that Disney has not lost any of its magic.

Have you seen this film? What did you think of it?

Thankyou for reading.

Laura.

Film Review: Maleficent.

 

I wasn't too sure about seeing this film as it didn't entirely appeal to me however I have loved Angelina Jolie for as long as I can remember. She is one of my favourite actresses and is just brilliant in every film that she is in. Especially this one.

To give some background, Maleficent is about one of Disney's most iconic villain from the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty. This is essentially the untold story of the once kind hearted baddie. Maleficent was a beautiful, young woman with a heart of gold and grew up in a peaceful forest kingdom, living a tranquil life. However one day an invading army threatens life in the forest and Maleficent rises to be the land's biggest protector but she ultimately suffers a heartbreaking betrayal which sets her heart to stone. Hell-bent on revenge and driven by a fierce desire to protect the moors where she resides, she faces a battle with the invading king's successor and in time, places a curse on his newborn baby, Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realises that Aurora is the key to bringing peace in the kingdom and perhaps the key to her own happiness.

Angelina Jolie as Maleficent was an absolutely fantastic choice. She was stunning with her sharp cheekbones (seriously, they could cut glass!) and gleaming eyes. Her performance as the titular character pretty much overshadowed everybody else, including Aurora. You would literally not miss any other character if they weren't in the film and they seem to be just standing around watching her doing the work. Which is alright by me because I could've happily watched Angelina as Maleficent for hours. For 98 minutes, you are amazed by her presence, creeped out at times by her intensity and taken away by her impressive wings.  

Despite all the hype about this film and Angelina herself, I wasn't that impressed by it really apart from her. The story is a bit of a muddle, just literally a thread of sequences that move the characters back and forth between the two sole locations; a castle and a magic forest. The characters don't really have much of a presence like Maleficent herself but I think this is due to poor screenwriting by Linda Woolverton who seems to not have given the others characters much to do that is challenging and attention-grabbing. 

Also when Aurora meets some boy who is deemed to be her 'true love', there is literally no connection between them within their two scenes that they have (yes, TWO SCENES) that make you believe that they could have any love for each other whatsoever. It is pretty unbelievable and a bit sloppy really. Furthermore when Aurora falls asleep, she is literally asleep for about five minutes and woken up instantly by a true love's kiss (which is a predictable scene by the way when you see it).. this is not enough time to make you feel the devastation that everyone seems to feel within the film and not quite like the death-like sleep that seems to be in the Disney animation.

All in all, every scene without Angelina Jolie leaves you lingering for more of Maleficent. Whether it be a mischievous twinkle in her eye or a flick of her hands whipping up some more brilliant magic, she is clearly the film's power and is the only thing that seems to make up for what the film lacks.

If there is any reason to go and see it, it's her.

Thankyou for reading.
Laura.