Movie Reviews
Cinderella
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Review By: Lisa Steinberg
The classic tale of Cinderella weaves its magic once again on the big screen in full beauty and live action. Cinderella is brought to life bewitchingly by director Kenneth Branagh and it paints a picture that magic, courage and kindness are what really are life’s greatest gifts.
The movie centers around a young girl named Ella who even as a baby has the ability to work magic. Her parents loved her dearly and always doted on her. Ella lived a life of happiness until her mother suddenly took ill. Before she passes, Ella’s mother makes her promise to always be courageous and kind. Ella grows up with her loving father and the two have a flourishing and sweet relationship.
One day Ella’s father decides he would like to have one last chance at happiness and love before he dies. He decides that he will remarry and tells Ella (Lily James) that he will wed Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett). When the two wed, Lady Tremaine and her two daughters comes to live in the cottage Ella grew up in. Ella’s father is taken away on business and she is left with her wicked step mother. It all starts with having Ella switch rooms with her sisters and moves up to the attic. Then it escalates to her doing all of the housework when they are too poor to pay the staff when Ella’s father dies.
Ella is tortured day and night by her step family, but per her promise to her mother she does it all with courage and kindness. One day when Ella seems to have had enough she rushes off and rides her horse into the woods. It is there she meets Kit (Richard Madden), the prince, whom she doesn’t recognize. The two share a moment and seem instantly smitten with one another. When Kit returns to the palace he tells his ailing father about his encounter. His father reminds Kit that he must choose a properly suited wife who will help the kingdom with advantage, but Kit is hung up on this country maid who has stolen his heart. He convinces his father to allow him to open up the upcoming ball they are having to every eligible maiden. When Ella learns of the ball she wants to go and see Kit again, whom she knows works at the palace as he told her he was apprenticing there. Her wicked step mother has other plans and denies Ella the right to go to the ball.
Downtrodden Ella rushes out of the cottage as her step mother and sisters head off to the ball without her, she comes upon a beggar who is an old woman. Ella shows her kindness and the woman morphs into Ella’s fairy godmother (played by Helena Bonham Carter). Can Ella make it to the ball in time to meet her sweet prince or will her evil step family destroy her chance at forever happiness?
James is simply stunning as Cinderella, she has beauty and poise along with great heart and emotion. Blanchett always does wicked so well! She portrays cruel and menacing with intensity but also manages to do so coupled with an underlying vulnerability so that you can feel for her at the same time. Unfortunately, James and Reed lack the chemistry and pull as a couple. Yes they make a beautiful pair, but the power and genuine affection just does not come off. Bonham Carter is a tickle as the fairy godmother, but is far too under used. The costuming and cinematography really are a large part of the captivation of this film.
If you have little children, they will be bedazzled by the message and sweetness of the film. While the interpretation brings nothing new, you’ll still be left with the ideal that just because that’s how it is done, doesn’t mean that’s how it should be.
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