Cinderella (2015) (Re-released October 2020 )

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Cinderella poster

This one is a short review, of Cinderella (Kenneth Branagh, 2015) as I have seen this film several times before, but as I made it my aim this year to review or at least write about every film I see at the cinema this year, I had to include it. In October it was my birthday. Giving options of what I could do to mark the day were limited, I decided to see a film at the cinema with four of my fellow young adult friends. I had hoped to see Death On The Nile (release date to be announced, Kenneth Branagh), the sequel to Murder On The Orient Express (2017, Kenneth Branagh) both adaptations of Agatha Christie's Poirot novels. However, like most of the big releases the release has been postponed till next year. My back up plan were Eternal Beauty (Craig Roberts, 2020) and On the Rocks (Sofia Coppola, 2020), Sofia Coppolas' newest film starring her staple artist Bill Murray. On The Rocks was on at a cinema an hour away, which giving the current situation was impractical for my friends to get there safely and Eternal Beauty was not on anywhere near me at all. My local Cineworld, along with every other Cineworld closed a week or so before my birthday, so this meant I had to go to my local Odeon (I go there most of the time anyway as its easier to get to on public transport than my local Cineworld, though both are about the same distance). Giving distributors and studios keep postponing releases, my local Odeon did not publish the film times for my birthday till a few days before, so I quickly had to decide what to see. My choices were: brightly coloured kid's animations and horror films. I am not a horror fan, I like the occasional horror but generally I find myself bored watching them. Nor am I a fan of most animations meant for 5-year olds (Disney films excluded from this as they are classics). 

 

Frozen Fever poster
  My only other option was a Super Saver re-release of Cinderella.  So, this is what I saw on my birthday. As I am writing this, it has just occurred to me that the film I wanted to see (Death On The Nile) and the film I actually saw have the same director, I must have a thing for Kenneth Branagh's directing style. I saw this when it was first released at the cinemas in 2015 and I went to the pop up exhibition of the costumes in London that coincided with its release. When the film started, they had the Frozen Fever (Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, 2015) short on the front, its nice that the re-release of Cinderella was shown how it was originally in 2015.

 

 The cast is good and the script is as to be expected. The only bit script wise I was not too keen on was the secret garden scene, a walk round a garden would have been sufficient, the secret garden dialogue is a bit awkward. Cate Blanchett is captivating as the wicked step-mother. Actually, I would pay good money to see a prequel/ spin-off movie of Cate Blanchett playing the step-mother before she met Cinderella's father, a villain origin story. It seems a little strange seeing Holliday Grainger in it now because I am so used to seeing her in the much more serious role of Robin in BBCs Strike (2017-) which she's been in since the release of Cinderella. The colour in this film is amazing, the gold of the palace and carriage, the colour of the step-sisters dresses, it's all so rich. Another thing I have warmed to this time round is Rob Brydon's cameo. When I first saw it, I thought he was a bit out of place, but actually it's quite fun having the silliness of him in it.

Cate Blanchett as the wicked Step-mother, Lily James as Cinderella

 Lily James's performance is highly under-rated. At the time of release, there was a lot of comment on how thin she looked in the ballgown because of the design of the ballgown. People argued she looked thinner here than the rest of the film, and that this was promoting a bad view of body image as thin does not equal more beautiful. However, this aside, Lily James was very good as Cinderella, one of her best performances. There is a scene where she breaks down, dropping her plate. You can really feel that the character has lost all hope in this scene, and I have seen Lily James in other things but that scene will stick with me. 

The controversial dress


 Sure, this adaptation stays true to form of Cinderella and does not do anything we have not seen before in previous adaptations of Cinderella, but it is a nice movie the whole family can enjoy together. Despite being a re-release, the cinema was the busiest I have seen it since February. Maybe a bit of familiarity and a sprinkle of Disney magic is the escapism we all need right now. 4 stars✰✰✰✰

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