Cinderella (2015)

Genres

Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Director

Kenneth Branagh

Country

USA

Cast

Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter, Nonso Anozie, Stellan Skarsgard, Sophie McShera, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, Ben Chaplin, Hayley Atwell, Eloise Webb, Rob Brydon, Jana Perez, Alex Macqueen

Storyline

When her father (Ben Chaplin) passes away, Ella (Lily James) finds at the mercy of her cruel stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and her stepsisters (Sophie McShera and Holliday Grainger) and is forced to be a servant in her own house. But things are about to change after she meets a fascinating stranger.

Opinion

There aren't many sure things in life, but one thing I know for sure is that Disney will never, and I repeat never be able to make a charming live-action remake of their fairy tales classics as Cinderella ended up being another visually stunning film that unfortunately feels incomplete.

The story is basically the same as the original, pretty simple and predictable. Only this time around it is tremendously boring and it made me realise that the story isn't that interesting to begin with and that it should have never been made into a film in the first place.

However, there's a little improvement over the original. Although it's not a plot twist - I would have loved one -, there's a nice addition that allows to develop the relationship between Ella and the Prince and makes it more believable if compared to the original where they immediately fall in love. Not even a spell would work that fast. A, so the characters have a bit more of development and backstory that allow us to know them a bit better, especially the Prince.

Still, the film is pretty boring. And most of the characters aren't memorable at all. Especially all the animal sidekicks. And the uninspired performances don't help either. Cate Blanchett (basically the reason I watched this) is quite remarkable as the stepmother but she's enough to make this film great. 

Nor enough are the visuals. The costumes are stunning, so are the sets. And the special effects are equally good - the transformations both of the dress and pumpkin are very impressive - and yet I would have preferred more real sets to all those green screens. It takes away from the film.