Cinderella

There are many positives coming out of Kenneth Branagh’s “Cinderella”. The production design is brilliant, with stunning costumes, sets and visual effects. An established cast holds its own with particularly standout performances from Cate Blanchett as Lady Tremaine (often better known as the evil stepmother) and Helena Bonham Carter as a delightfully eccentric Fairy Godmother. All in all, the film is a great family movie. The kids will marvel in the spectacle and be engrossed in the story while the adults can enjoy the film for what it is; a sweet retelling of the classic fairytale we all know like the backs of our hands.

That said, “Cinderella” is well and truly a re-telling. Unlike last year’s spectacular “Maleficent”, this film sticks to the original story like glue. The straight adaptation adds nothing to the original tale, in fact, if you could literally turn the 1950 animated version of the fairytale into a live action piece of film, this would be the result.

But while converting the story, characters, settings and themes to live-action, Branagh has also managed to capture the magic of the tale and bring that to his film. “Cinderella” is enchanting in all senses of the word. From the gorgeous sets to the flawless visual effects and the costumes fit for the princes and princesses who wear them, “Cinderella” is beautiful to watch.

Of course we can’t discuss “Cinderella” without touching upon the performance of Lily James, who played the titular character. James was good in the role of a fairly two-dimensional character, one that can only ‘have courage and be kind’ (watch the film, you’ll know what I mean). Blanchett had more to work with as Lady Tremaine and delivered a suitably bitter and unkind stepmother. The most notable player in my mind, however, was Bonham Carter as the most eccentric and down-right enjoyable Fairy Godmother to ever grace Cinderella’s presence (but what else would you expect from Bonham Carter, right?!) I would have loved to see more of her in the film, despite the traditionally small role the Fairy Godmother plays in the story. Alas, this adaptation is all about the traditional tale.

Perhaps, in making this film, Disney and Branagh were simply intending to bring the classic “Cinderella” story into the 21^st century to give the kids of today their own version of the timeless tale. If so, they certainly hit the nail on the head. “Cinderella” is without a doubt beautiful to watch and stylishly enchanting. It’s a film for the whole family in the true sense of the phrase.