Image source: Disney
“Where there is kindness, there is goodness. Where there is goodness, there is magic.”
I took my daughter to her first real movie last weekend to see Disney’s new live action Cinderella starring Lily James. I was intrigued by the trailer, but once I heard that Kenneth Branagh was directing, I had very high hopes.
Any review will tell you that the film is visually stunning. And it’s true, Cinderella is absolutely breathtaking. The costuming and the sets are captivating and rich with detail. Every frame is dripping with beauty and a view of Wicked Stepmother Cate Blanchett’s wardrobe alone is worth the price of a movie ticket. But this new adaption of the beloved fairytale is more than a feast for the eyes.
Director Kenneth Branagh has a history of not ruining the classics. Even when he sets one of his many Shakespeare films in an unusual time period they still end up faithful to the story. His Much Ado About Nothing starring his ex-wife Emma Thompson is simply the last word on my favorite of the bard’s comedies. While the whole Branagh/Thompson split still bums me out (I mean, who doesn’t adore Emma Thompson?!), I cannot help but admire his directing and Cinderella confirms his ability to make a masterpiece out of a story we all know like the back of our hands.
The genius of this film is that is doesn’t try to blow our minds with twists and subversions of the original tale. It simply takes the story and brings it to life, letting the magic of the timeless plot speak for itself.
I like retellings like Ever After as much as the next girl (OK, much more than the next girl, I watched it last week), but there’s a reason the original fairytale is a classic. Branagh’s version added sparkle without trying to manipulate it into having more modern themes. And what Cinderella ends up being is a beautiful examination of the strength of virtue–a very unmodern theme.
Image source: Disney
While we spend only a few brief moments with Ella’s mother (Haley Atwell) her legacy haunts the whole film. The joy and love of their little family is what forms Ella into a young woman who can withstand abuse, neglect, and sorrow without losing her own dignity or compassion for others. It is this inner strength that makes her impossible to defeat with neglect, abuse, or cruelty.
As Ella’s young mother is dying, she tells her daughter, “Have courage, and be kind. For where there is kindness, there is goodness. And where there is goodness, there is magic.” And Ella grows to embody true kindness. She is not merely nice, she is kind, charitable, loving. Her kindness is a symptom of her goodness.
While Disney’s animated Cinderella is a character I never found likable (so much gasping!), Lily James manages to keep Cinderella from being silly or saccharine. The film highlights Ella’s innocence while not confusing it with ignorance or weakness. It is not that Ella never speaks up for herself or that she is unaware of the misery of her situation, but she is simply too strong to let herself stoop to revenge or bitterness. We have difficulty comprehending the strength of innocence. “No one is really good, but they can be too dumb to fight back” is what our culture likes to tell us.
Ella is reminiscent of A Little Princess’s Sara Crewe. It is not that Sara or Ella are too simple to see the cruel characters of those abusing them, but their inner strength of character refuses to violate itself by responding in kind or by shutting out life and love for others.
I’m reminded of Rowling’s Albus Dumbledore who never fails to speak with impeccable politeness to others, even the despicable Death Eaters who have cornered him with murderous intent. Yes, he knows they plan to kill him. Yes, they do not deserve his respect. But it is not merely for them that he maintains an irreproachable manner, it is for himself. His self-respect is stronger than his humiliation. He knows that although they can kill him, he still holds the cards as long as he is brave, kind, and self-sacrificing. As long as we follow Ella’s mother’s exhortation to be courageous and kind, we always hold the cards.
While she is wounded by the cruelty of her stepmother and stepsisters and at times defies them, Ella sees them for what they are–women trapped by their own selfishness. Ella, on the other hand, is free to love and to light up the world around her.
And this love and compassion for others is the catalyst for the supernatural enchantment in Cinderella. When Ella has been humiliated and abused as her stepmother and stepsisters tear her mother’s dress and leave her behind for the ball we see Ella truly wretched. But it only takes the request of old beggar woman asking her for some bread or milk to bring her out of her own grief into compassion for someone else. She quickly stops thinking of herself and busies herself finding buttermilk for the woman to drink. This act of charity transforms the old woman into her fairy godmother and the magic begins.
Image source: Disney
Or rather, the enchantment of the pumpkins and mice into a carriages and horses begins. The magic has been working in Ella from the start–giving her the bravery to choose joy. Her situation is so tragic that we would not judge her for sinking into misery, but she refuses to shut out joy. Two painful losses of beloved parents, daily neglect and abuse, and then possibly losing her chance for love and happiness cannot break her.
When the prince (and props for making him neither a spoiled whiner or a rake she has to reform, but a man genuinely worthy of her from the very start) finds her locked in the attic by her wicked stepmother, it is because he can hear her singing. We can write it off as unrealistic, or we can be inspired by the courage it takes to fight for joy in the midst of our unhappiness.
I was surprised (pleasantly) that this version didn’t attempt to make Cate Blanchett’s wicked stepmother sympathetic, but let her be evil. While her circumstances may give her cause for disappointment in life, her cruelty has no excuse. When confronted by Ella about why she abuses her, the stepmother explains, “Because you are young, and innocent, and good…” It’s hard to imagine an evil figure in real life answering with such honesty, but this is a story in which lizards become footmen and enchanted geese drive carriages. And the response is very honest. We hate the things that remind us that we are not what we were meant to be. We hate the people who embody what we have failed to become.
While it’s very satisfying to watch Ever After’s Cinderella doom her wicked stepmother to the same ill-treatment she received (“All I ask, Your Majesties… is that you show her the same courtesy that she has bestowed upon me”) her fair judgement is not the same as forgiveness. Lily James’ Cinderella cannot be burdened with punishing or seeking vengeance. As she walks out of her house with her prince and her glass slipper, she looks over her shoulder at her stepmother and says merely, “I forgive you” as Blanchett sinks to the floor in defeat.
Ella’s forgiveness doesn’t seem to be an attempt to comfort her still unremorseful stepmother, but instead a purging of any seeds of hatred that have no place in her own soul. When we hate, we most deeply hurt ourselves and Ella is too wise to be a slave to bitterness.
Image source: Disney
Charity has power. This is the moral of all good tales, whether it’s the simple faithfulness of Samwise Gamgee being the salvation of Middle Earth, the self-sacrifice of Aslan breaking the evil enchantments of the White Witch, or Lily Potter’s mark of maternal love that makes her son untouchable. We see Cinderella’s mother’s love fill Ella with goodness, and courage that sustain her through anything life may throw at her.
I just can’t wait to see it again.
Have you seen it yet? What did you think?
I simply cannot wait to see this. What a wonderful review you’ve done about it here!
Thanks, Gina! I hope you like the movie!
I was curious about how Lucy reacted to it or how you think Benjamin would have. I’ve got a sensitive one and I was curious if the live-action would make some things too scary.
Lucy loved it and didn’t find it scary at all. But she and Benjamin (and Gwen) don’t seem sensitive to suspense in movies. I could have done without some of the previews–partly just for the noise factor. They were so loud that I think it startled her a little bit.
Amen and amen. We saw it on Friday afternoon (both kids, my parents, and I) and we could not stop talking about it the rest of the evening. I have never been a fan of “Cindy”, either, but this version of her was wonderful. The entire film was marvelous in every way. A home run.
I thought so, too! It made me love the story–formerly one of my least favorite fairytales.
We really liked it too. I took my almost 5 year old. I agree with everything you said, it’s beautiful and true to the story and really not scary at all (sad moments and mean people, like the story, but no scariness). My only caution to parents would be about the length of the film. The film itself is almost 2 hours, made longer with about half a dozen previews and an animated short. That was a bit long for my daughter.
That’s a good point, Anna! Lucy has a pretty long attention span, but she was a little antsy for the last 20 minutes. If I had it to do over, I would have come in after the previews (30 minutes of previews!!!).
I’m so excited for this, now! I was raised on Disney (my mother is obsessed) but I haven’t really raised my own girls on it. I have still been really bummed about the recent Disney movies and reboots, though. Because though I think “strong independent woman” is a good thing to be showing it’s just frustrating that the idea is you can only be X in order to be said strong independent woman. I don’t think getting married to someone you just met or even just pining for him is mutually exclusive to being strong or interesting or worthwhile. I hate that we are sending the message that any woman that goes this rout is boring, unintelligent, and weak and setting herself up for misery. Not only is it just wrong to throw so many women under the bus like that it also has become so predictable and, thus, boring.
I’m happy to read this review! I want to take my girls to see it.
I’m with you on this. I despise the hopeless mantra of how fairytales set women up for misery! How is settling rather than finding someone actually worthy of your love empowering to women, ya know? I’m not saying we should promote marriage as easy or all sunshine and rainbows and happily ever after. But what could be worse than being mistreated in a marriage by someone that doesn’t measure up to reasonable standards of what a spouse should be?
What a marvellous review! It’s surprising but wonderful to see a modern film version of a fairytale that actually gets it right!
It was a pleasant surprise!
Great review! I am so excited to see this Saturday. Thank you!
Oooo! Hope you love it!
Your review is right on. I thought Ella forgiving her step mother was especially powerful. Also, Branaugh and Thompson in Much Ado About Nothing is possibly my favorite movie of all time. They are both brilliant. I am so excited that she will be part of Beauty and the Beast.
I am so crazy excited about Emma Thompson and Emma Watson BOTH being in the live action Beauty and the Beast!
It’s possibly my favorite movie of all time, too. It’s the only Shakespeare play that I have completely memorized from so many watches, haha. It’s just perfection.
Thanks for this!
FYI, the picture book version by Ruth Sanderson is beautiful and well-done, much like you describe here. . .in case you need a good one. 🙂
We’ll have to order it from the library! Thanks, Alicia!
I totally agree with you. The movie was well done. It made subtle references to the animated version (Lucifer the cat, Gus Gus, etc) without making it a live-action repeat It emphasized forgiveness and kindness and courage without her simply being a doormat. She was very much a three dimensional character. And I totally agree that I was relieved that the Prince also was treated as being kind. Much like JK Rowling says through her character Sirius, it’s about how we treat our inferiors and I enjoyed that he was respectful to his staff. I enjoyed watching his relationship with his father and that Prince had enough respect for the King to wait for his blessing. There are very few movies these days that show the chivalrous side of men. Instead they are either idiots or lecherous.
Side note I enjoyed the music. Lavender’s Blue was a nice touch especially how it was orchestrated throughout the film.
Yes to ALL of this. Loved the Prince’s relationship with the king. And the music was lovely. I can’t help singing Lavender’s Blue all day every day.
What a beautiful review, Haley! Therese loves the animated Cinderella and I can’t stand it. Maybe we could agree on this one?!
Is that Daisy playing one of the stepsisters?!
I don’t enjoy the animated one, either. And yes! It’s Daisy!
This movie was so breathtaking and beautiful. I love your review of it. I was telling my husband that I love how Ever After fleshes out the story, and I adore Drew Barrymore, but this movie just had a wonderful simple magic to it and how you never once thought Cinderella was a meek damsel in distress–just a sweet, good, genuine person. She didn’t need sass or violence in word or deed to make her strength known. I loved that she forgave her step-mother and just left it at that. My priest just told me last week how Jesus didn’t ask me to like everyone, just to love them, and to forgive them for your own sake. Such a nice way to depict that to children 🙂
Yes. I really loved the theme of forgiveness. I think they portrayed virtue so well. With so much light and love, there simply isn’t room for bitterness or hatred.
What an excellent review, Haley! I saw it this weekend with my hubby, sister and her fiance. I cannot wait until my daughter is old enough to watch it – she’s almost 1. Oh heck, I was out running errands by myself today (mom was watching kids) and I briefly considered going to see it again and forgetting the errands, haha. 🙂 Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast have always been my favorite Disney movies. I LOVED that Ella said “I forgive you” at the end. I didn’t expect that. And I’ve been singing Lavender’s Blue since Saturday. 🙂
Lucy is 3.5 and this is the first little special movie date we’ve had. It was so fun! You have a lot to look forward to 🙂
I agree with this completely – with perhaps the exception that I found the portrayal of the stepmother to be somewhat sympathetic. At least for myself, I was able to understand some of the pain she’s undergone in being constantly compared to Cinderella’s mother and feeling somewhat like the snubbed second Mrs. DeWinter in Daphne DuMaurier’s “Rebecca”. Which is not to say that she made the right choices but that they were understandable to a certain degree. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as they say.
And I’ve always WANTED to like “Ever After”, but I’ve always been puzzled that despite the fact that the prince clearly has many good reasons to admire Ella, the respect hardly seems reciprocal, and his character always seemed unpardonably weak.
Anyway, I absolutely adored “Cinderella” – I went to go see it with my boyfriend, so I was rather pleased that it turned out to be less than completely girly and had so many wonderful solid things to say that could appeal to both sexes. So glad to find that Branagh hasn’t lost his touch in the last 20 years!
Yes! I’m excited for Daniel to see it. Going to the movies is a super rare occurrence for us, but we plan to buy it when it’s available on Amazon and have a family movie night 🙂
I think what I loved the most was the relationship between the prince and the king. It was so lovely to see two men show vulnerability and honesty with one another and to tell each other they loved one another so frequently. And that shot of the prince curled up on the king’s bed…I’m still weepy over it!
I really liked that disobeying his father’s wishes in order to marry a commoner wasn’t something the Prince took lightly. He loved his father, respected him, and wanted to do the right thing. And I loved that Ella also didn’t push him to ruin his relationship with his father. The king’s death scene was really, really good. (And that bed was amazing!)
How fun that you got to see it with your daughter. Wonderful review, and I love all things Kenneth Branagh!
Me, too. Except his split with my darling Emma Thompson. That I do not love. But I try not to think about it when I watch his movies because…..amazing.
Thank you for a lovely review. It’s all I needed to decide to see it. We have an almost 4y/o daughter who adores princesses. (I’m not sure where it came from really. She has three older brothers, but from family and friends she has inherited clothes that have princesses on them. Must be the books. Bookhouse Treasury and fairytale books. But I digress…) 🙂 Just curious if you think it might be scary for the very young? This will be her first movie theatre experience. Also, I imagine it will be a good one for her brothers: ages 5, 8 and 9. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you!
It was not scary for Lucy (3.5) and I haven’t talked to any mamas whose children were frightened by the film BUT I wish we’d skipped the previews (except for Frozen Fever) because they were very loud, suspenseful, and just all around too much for her. The movie itself was fantastic. A friend’s daughter was concerned by the death scenes of the parents, so if she’s very sensitive, I would take that into consideration.
Thank you, again, Haley. We are ready for the matinee. There is a drive-in theatre a bit of a trek from us but friends of mine went because the theatre hosted a “Princess Ball” before the film. Any child who wanted to dress up in their best costume was invited to attend the Ball. Boys come as knights and princes. What a sweet idea. It makes me wish we had a big projector and screen for our backyard and do something like it at home. God Bless you and thanks again. 🙂
thanks for sharing! Cinderella has never been a favorite, (can’t wait for Beauty and the Beast!) but this made me excited to watch this film. I’m so glad to hear they kept the story simple and beautiful without Hollywoodizing it.
I loved the movie. I thought they were true to the story, but that they added in some fun twists. I thought it had a great message. Things might go badly in life, but staying true to yourself and being a kind and courageous person is a great defense. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Agreed. I told Kendra that I loved how it didn’t change the original Disney tale, but rather added some depth to the lifeless animated characters. Way to go, Disney!! (I can’t believe I just said that.)
I love the story of Cinderella in every form. The favorites of my youth were always a Scottish version I had or the R&H’s musical version. I would reenact it in my living room over and over singing all the songs. I am a fan of the Disney version as well, hence how I developed the name of my blog!! But, what I loved most this movie is that Ella did many things that I felt were raw and completely human. The point in the movie when she was dismissed from sitting at the table and then dropped the dishes in the kitchen, I wanted to cry and cry with her and my thought was, “JUST RUN. RUN AWAY.” and that’s exactly what she did. It was so gratifying to me that the film processed that human urge to escape, even if only briefly, alongside the magic and the splendor.
I saw it last Saturday and adored it. Fun fact, I never actually saw Cinderella in English until I was about 10 or 12 – my neighbors’ mother was from Austria and so to practice their German their family only had the German versions of Disney movies (back when they were VHS and only had one language!). So I had seen Cinderella in German plenty of times but not in English.
I loved the usual stuff – costumes, the beauty of the scenes, the dancing – but my favorite part was how they deepened the characterization without departing from the old Disney storyline (no bleeding feet!). I really liked seeing Ella’s father and mother for longer, and I appreciated that the Prince actually had a character as opposed to being a royal pretty face. I also liked how they fleshed out the reasons why Ella’s stepmother treated her so poorly, instead of going with the all stepmother’s are evil theme.
I was a little bit sad not to have some of the old songs – my two favorites are A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes and Bibbity-Boppity-Boo, but then they were in the credits!
I love this review. I was debating whether or not to see it, but this fully convinced me.
Perfect review, Haley. I couldn’t agree more with everything, right down to my feelings about Kenneth Branagh (love all things about him except that he left Emma, wah). My daughters and I went to see it, and I know we’ll be watching it again!
Excellent review! My husband took me to see Cinderella this weekend on our weekly date night and I loved pretty much every second if it. I’m a sucker for fairy tales in general, especially Disney ones. And I will admit to loving Cinderella in all of it’s many many forms from the very first time I heard the story. However, this one was one of the best versions by far. That scene where the dress changes took my breath away.
Not going to lie, the awesomeness of Cinderella pretty much tripled my excitement over the Emma Watson/Dan Stevens version of Beauty and the Beast coming out next year.
I remember hearing that line (“where there is goodness there is magic”) and thinking, “They’re onto something here.” Glad to know they followed through, cause I didn’t like Malificent (sp?). It did the thing Cinderella didn’t do in trying to make the bad guy too sympathetic, and that just didn’t mesh.
Thank you for this review. I’ll have to save it this link and send it to my husband – he really dislikes Disney Princess movies. I think this post might just convince him to let us watch it. But I DO like “Ever After” too! It’s my fave movie, actually. Seen it a thousand times!
My husband and I saw this a few days ago and loved it. Thanks for the great review. I hope it does really well in the box office. We need good wholesome movies out there. This is one of my new favorites!
I took my 3.5 yr old to see it last weekend and I absolutely agree with your review. I was a bit anxious beforehand how Disney would adapt the story, but it had a wonderful and classic feel to it. I especially liked seeing Cinderella’s mother in the beginning and understanding more how her father would have ended up being with her evil stepmother.
Even though the Disney cartoon is quite the classic and my daughter loves it and the songs are fun – I think I actually prefer this new live-action version to the cartoon version.
Hello Haley: I am sitting here with our dear family friend Elizabeth Martin. She tells us that you are a devoted Catholic, and I have really enjoyed reading your blog, which Elizabeth recommended.
Take care and look for another comment soon.
God bless.
Mark
Oh my gosh, it made me cry! I absolutely adored this movie. It touched my heart deeply.
I have been thinking it over since watching Cinderella for the first time this week (and a second time yesterday!). I think what Ella clarified for me is that to possess solid goodness means being obstinate, and blind, and deaf to the persuasions of fear and wickedness. 🙂