Kenneth Branagh's "Cinderella" was the best Disney Live Action remake. It remained faithful to the original but wasn't a xeroxed version and gave us a fresh twist.

There are a lot of positives to find in Cinderella. It doesn't shy away from being a conventional fairytale, it doesn't take itself too seriously, but it also provides fresh touches which makes it a more engaging film to see. The costume design by Sandy Powell is bursting with bright colors. It's a colorful movie.

Lily James is perfect as Cinderella. Beautiful but likable and humble, she also makes Cinderella into a strong female who is an unfortunate victim of her circumstances. A lesser actress would be formulaic but James is so charismatic, you want to root for Cinderella. And it never feels too corny and cheesy.

But for me, the biggest advantage is Cate Blanchett as the "wicked" stepmother. It isn't the first time a live action remake tries to humanize the stepmother, we saw that with Anjelica Huston in Ever After, but this is the first one where it gives us a fully fledged arc from explaining what made her resent Ella but also explores the bitterness of a woman who wasted her youth and missed out on love, living through her daughters, and resenting her step-daughter every step of the way. Blanchett is delightfully wicked at times but she is never one-note and gives us a better insight into her character, making her, not necessarily good but worthy of pity.

Submitted September 28, 2021 at 08:39PM by Ren_Celluloid https://ift.tt/3zMhLYv