Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Kenneth Branagh, Walt Disney Pictures, G 105 Minutes.
British actor and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh (‘Jack Ryan-Shadow Recruit’) has remade Disney’s classic fairy tale (released in 1950) into an entertaining live action romantic fantasy film.
In line with the original story the movie opens with Cinderella as a young child losing her beloved mother followed soon after by her travelling business father (Ben Chaplin – ‘Snowden’) remarrying the arrogant aristocrat Lady Tremaine (Australia’s Cate Blanchett – ‘Carol’).
Her father’s death on a business trip leaves Cinderella (Lily James – ‘Baby Driver’) alone to deal with the wicked whims of a “stepmother of all stepmothers” and her disgusting daughters Anastasia (Holliday Grainger – ‘Great Expectations’) and Drisella (Sophie McShera – TV’s ‘Downton Abbey’).
After her room is given-over to her stepsisters Cinderella must contend with living with her computer-generated mice in the attic being her only companions and treated like a common servant.
Nevertheless Cinderella still manages to maintain a happy disposition remembering her mother’s words of wisdom “always have courage and be kind to everyone.”
Cinderella’s life suddenly changes when she learns that the King (Derek Jacobi – ‘Stratton’) has invited all of the kingdom’s eligible maidens to attend a royal ball to enable his son the Prince (Richard Madden – ‘Bastille Day’) to choose a bride.
This pronouncement prompts the deceitful Lady Tremaine making preparations for her daughters to attend the ball simultaneously stopping her step – daughter (Cinderella) from going-unaware of the magical support forthcoming from Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham-Carter – ‘Suffragette’).
What transpires next is a succession of delightful fairy tale transformations-an immaculately dressed Cinderella, a giant pumpkin converted into a golden carriage, mice becoming four white chargers and lizards transforming into footmen.
When Cinderella hurriedly departs the ball at the stroke of midnight she leaves behind one glass slipper and a heart-broken Prince in hot pursuit desperate to locate its owner.
The plot thickens when the deceiving stepmother makes a pact with the Grand Duke (Stellan Skarsgard – ‘The Avengers’) only to be uncovered by the royal household’s clever Captain which enables the Prince to finally find the owner of the slipper.
Branagh has essentially held true to the timeless tale of Cinderella with its enchanting storyline in addition to trumpeting the triumph of good over evil.
In assembling his great cast Branagh has chosen a lesser known actress in James to play Cinderella a role performed with considerable panache while the brilliant Blanchett delivers a near-perfect portrayal as her cruel stepmother.
Besides the lavish settings and the wonderful scenes showing those transformations-particularly the pumpkin converted into Cinderella’s golden carriage-Branagh’s enjoyable movie will appeal to everyone especially to a new generation of fairy tale followers.
Cinderella is being televised on Channel 7flix at 7.00PM on Saturday 27 June.
Vic’s Verdict: 4 Stars
