MANILA -- There's a warmth to Disney's live-action adaptation of "Cinderella" that's sorely lacking in what passes as kids' entertainment nowadays. You come out smiling, knowing you've been entertained without completely knowing why.
Part of it is seeing the familiar: a fairy tale that hits all the right beats without crushing it under a cynical boot heel. There's CGI in the movie but not at the sacrifice of character. There's darkness but never at the expense of joy.
"Cinderella" teases you with the promise of a traditional fairy tale, charms you with lavishness and then strips away its own trappings to reveal the beating heart of its own humanity. It's the type of movie you wish Hollywood would do more of for kids -- at once, both old-fashioned and charming in its own right. And once in a while, we get our wish.
What's refreshing about this take is balance. Director Kenneth Branagh provides no deconstructions here, no misunderstood witches or horrifying giants, no damsels in distress with swords and full body armor. Cinderella, as played by Lily James, exudes the kind of beauty that radiates from the inside, soft as starlight.
At the start of the story, Ella's happy childhood loses part of its luster when she loses her mom, played by Hayley Atwell. Before dying, mom gives Ella some words of wisdom: "Have courage and be kind" - words that Ella will live by until adulthood. The words sound twee and there's a wee bit of lag as Ella grows up but it's all set up for what comes ahead: more heartbreak, loss, abuse, redemption.
When Ella's coldly malicious stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and her two daughters enter the picture, you know you've found the stuff that teleseryes are made of. Cate Blanchett as the stepmom is in full Cherie Gil mode here, deftly hiding her contempt for Ella in silken gloves -- insisting that Ella call her "Madam" before relegating her to the attic.
Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drizella (Sophie McShera) fare no better as the lazy, contemptuous stepsisters but it is the stepmother that is given an extra layer of malevolence. Tremaine grounds her wickedness in human need; you recognize her selfishness and remain chilled as she twists things to her own advantage. When Ella suffers taunts that turn to bullying and then outright abuse at her stepmother's hands, you ask - will kindness and courage be enough? This story tells us - everyone needs help, even from the most unexpected places.
Here, too, do we find Branagh's courage and confidence in the Cinderella story. Ella's first meeting with Prince Kit (Richard Madden) in the woods is as comfortable as wearing a glove. Prince Kit comes off as a boy learning to be a man: his goodness is rooted from the lessons he learned from his father, played by a commanding Derek Jacobi. When he finds his counterpoint in Ella, in a meeting of unknown equals, something is kindled and we find the spark. This, then, is the stuff that fairy tales are made of -- a recognition of kindred souls with similar values.
From here on out, it's all razzle-dazzle and spectacle. The prince invites all young maidens to a royal ball to find the girl in the woods, but Ella is forced to stay behind. Here, she meets her fairy godmother, played by a delightfully kooky Helena Bonham Carter, and gets a complete makeover complete with glass slippers, pumpkin turned golden chariot and mouse friends turned into steeds.
And then off to the ballroom scene, surely the most lush and beautiful in recent cinema before that breath-taking run back as the coach turns back to a pumpkin, the coachmen become lizards and the horses become mice. And of course, that glass slipper and the search for the runaway bride-to-be.
I'll stop there because everyone knows the ending. Branagh strips away artifice and lets kindness create its own magic, its own deus ex machina. And the restraint pays off. You don't need fairy godmothers to make storybook beginnings. Kindness to others, the courage to stand up for what's right, and a lot of help from friends - these are the things that can create their own magic.
"Cinderella" opens in cinemas in the Philippines on Thursday.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
