Critics rating: 2.5 Stars

Cast:  Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Stellan Skarsgård, Richard Madden.

Direction: Kenneth Branag.

Produced: Simon Kinberg, David Barron, Allison Shearmur.

Written: Chris Weitz.

Genre: Romantic

Duration: 113 Mins

A beloved childhood classic that has been frequently adapted finds another faithful retelling. This is a narration so true to Disney’s original animated classic that the storyline offers no novelty for those who have been raised on a steady diet of fairy tales and their parodied virtues thereafter.

For the uninitiated, Ella (Lily James) is the daughter of a wealthy man, who remarries the poised Madame Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) a few years after the demise of his wife. Madame Tremaine and her daughters Anatasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera) make life difficult for the doe-eyed beauty after the death of her father. The usual sequences of haughty shrillness and temper tantrums predictably continue and Ella must bear the brunt of their ire. One of the sisters brands her ‘Cinderella’ for her sooty face as a result of sleeping before the fireplace for warmth.

But she aims to please, her perseverance intact because of her mother’s dying words, “Have courage and be kind” which seems to be the takeaway message of the film since it surfaces more than once and in variations. All this is followed by the grand ball thrown for the prince to choose a befitting bride, the transformed Cinderella dazzling the host and the attendees along with the brief drama of finding the mysterious guest with the glass slipper she left behind.

 

The Cinderella story builds upon the same premise as others have before it. There is a refreshing difference, however, with the exchanges of the characters being bettered with some witty banter. Even the romance between Cinderella and the prince is more relatable than the fairytale with a convincing build-up. It helps that Lily James and Richard Madden make their respective characters likeable without resorting to the cardboard cut-out romanticism of the source material. Even if the stepsisters are snotty and piercing, they are an entertaining presence. The best of the lot is Cate Blanchett, who lends a gracious villainy to Madame Tremaine, without a false note or an exaggerated strain in a fairytale.

Despite the film’s lack of adherence to any innovative, whimsical twist, Cinderella has enough of loveable sincerity and exuberance working in its favour. To aid that end are also some enchanting sets with gorgeous costumes (by three-time Oscar winner Sandy Powell) and lavish, bold colours, that add to the enchanting Disney trademark.

There is also Helena Bonham Carter, who introduces herself as a “hairy dogfather” before hastily correcting her magical antecedents. Perhaps the film could have benefited with an extension on her role, though the running time and the sheer energy do not squander away your patience.

 

Cinderella is a sweet little nod to a time of simpler stories and a belief in a dash of magic in reality. It will be appreciated by those who are not acquainted with the story and also by those who would want to get reacquainted with the nostalgia for fairy tales. Keep expectations for a modern day spin at bay and this will not disappoint you.