The tale as old as time has been told once again: Cinderella, the newest Disney movie, has finally come to the ball — or, well, movie theaters.
For the few of you who don’t know the story of Cinderella, it goes like this. Ella (Lily James), who is both fair and good-hearted, is our heroine. Both of Ella’s parents die, and she is left in the charge of her wicked stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and her two equally horrific stepsisters (Sophie McShera and Holliday Grainger). To no surprise, Ella’s stepmother and stepsister treat her like their maid, and they begin to call her Cinderella. One day, Cinderella meets the prince (Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden), and it is love at first sight for the pair of them. However, their meeting is cut short, so the prince throws a ball in hopes of finding Cinderella and marrying her. Cinderella — with a little aid from her fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) — attends the ball, but she leaves at the stroke of midnight, leaving behind a single glass slipper that the prince will use to find her.
This film goes for the classical version of Cinderella as opposed to a reinvented retelling of the story. Think less Baz Lurhman’s Romeo and Juliet and more Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice. However, that does not cause the film to be a boring drudge.
Cate Blanchett is easily the best part of the film. She is a phenomenal wicked stepmother, and she gives the character more depth than the character is normally allowed — not to mention that she by far has the best costumes in the entire film. To quote the film, “She wore grief, and she wore it well,” and she certainly did.
Blanchett easily outshone Lily James, whose performance is mediocre. She made Cinderella come off as annoying by playing up her Panglossian optimism. It is more likely, though, that her subpar acting is attributed to Cinderella being a one-dimensional character as opposed to a lack of skill on James’ part.
Surprisingly, for an actress with a tremendous amount of skill, Helena Bonham Carter fell flat in her portrayal as Cinderella’s fairy godmother. Her rendition of the happy, helpful fairy felt forced. Although, perhaps it is merely prejudices clouding my vision. In any case, she is a much better death eater.
It is clear, though, that the heart of the film lies in the production of it, not the acting. Each set and costume is more ornate than the last. They all work together harmoniously to add to the world of Cinderella. It is an incredibly visually pleasing film to watch because — besides each scene being decorated ever so sumptuously — the film is directed very well. The director of Cinderella — Kenneth Branagh, best known for his various Shakespeare movies — does a great job composing many beautiful scenes and shots.
Overall, Cinderella is much better than anticipated. Even though it is only a mildly cheesy film, Cinderella is still far better than most movies that are out in theaters.