© Disney.
3.5/4 Stars
Rated PG
Starring: Lily James and Helena Bonham Carter
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
By all reports, many young girls still dream of being princesses. Their older sisters pine after finding that handsome prince. And all of us, regardless of gender or persuasion, want our wishes to come true.
Such are the roots for the enduring fascination of the Cinderella story—along with the idea that the last can be first and the bullies can be humbled. Kenneth Branagh helms the latest rendition in his occasional role as director of lavishly budgeted Hollywood productions. Although it’s a Disney movie, and the Disney Studio was responsible for the classic 1950 animated version, the new film is populated by live actors—except for the extraordinary special effects that bring to life Cinderella’s only friends, the mice that share her crumbs.
Lily James plays the star of the tale, Ella (the Cinder was added later by the mean stepsisters). A radiant young woman with a face the camera can easily love, James is utterly adorable as the embodiment of grace under increasing pressure. Before she died, Ella’s mother imparted these words of wisdom: “Have courage and be kind.” The axiom becomes her guiding light in the gathering darkness.
The outlines of the story are familiar from centuries of retelling. Ella’s beloved father (Ben Chaplin) marries a widow with a pair of daughters and grandiose social ambitions. Unctuous and dripping with barely concealed malice, the wicked stepmother (Cate Blanchett) gradually reveals the depth of her selfish depravity after Ella’s father dies. The snickering stepsisters (Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera) are the mean girls from every high school coming-of-age flick. Ella is banished to the attic and eventually reduced to slavery.
Although the screenplay introduces a few twists, we know the story will end in triumph over adversity when the glass shoe fits.
Some of the older archetypes for the Cinderella story are grim indeed, but Branagh and Disney management brightened the gothic aspect with romance and humor. Prince Charming (his friends call him Kit), played by handsome Richard Madden, is instantly in love with the unknown girl he meets in the forest and encounters again at the ball. Helena Bonham Carter provides comic relief as the slightly flustered Fairy Godmother. Waving her magic wand to uncertain ends, she transforms a pumpkin into a gilded coach, remakes Ella’s ragged dress into high couture and, almost as an afterthought, turns her threadbare slippers into gleaming glass. “And you’ll find them really comfortable,” she insists with lack of total conviction.
Branagh’s extravagantly furnished Cinderella is set in a fantasy version of the 19th century circa Jane Austen and staged with traditional costumes and sets mixed with computer-generated backdrops. The story still rings true: Tragedy can strike a charmed life, cruelty and goodness are endemic to the human condition, justice is possible and kindness can pay off.
