



That’s not to say the rest doesn’t work despite them. Closer to his Shakespearean roots than with Thor and, one laments, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Branagh is confident and refined, smartly underplaying more than over. A reaction to the bombastic movies Hollywood keeps telling us we want, it’s virtuously conventional and deceptively small, brought to life with just enough wit that it doesn’t feel like a retread. With only a handful of characters and locations, there’s no artificial steroidization of the third act with CGI explosions. Cinderella herself doesn’t pilot a tank, the fairy godmother doesn’t hand her a bazooka, and the mice (oh, yes, they’re here) don’t morph into an army to combat the mustache-twirling villain. It’s smallness might restrain it from being as enchanting as maybe it should be, but it’s also a major plus in this movie culture. The direction chooses “beauty shots” carefully so as not to overwhelm a small story with a colossal stage.





The stepmother is an iconic role, as famous as any other in the story, and no actress could have been better cast than Cate Blanchett. Sniveling, rude, and revolting, she over-enunciates and points her finger as though it’s a spear crafted from diamond. Blanchett saves the ham for the third course, giving the first reels a slightly subdued stepmother. We can believe in the reality of her character more than anyone would ever want to, which gives Cinderella a bite previous versions didn’t. If you’re the type to avoid fairy tale or children’s stories but find yourself getting dragged along, she’ll be the saving grace of your ticket. Other than a general absence of oomph tugging things along, there is an odd, but serious criticism: Cinderella is not a musical, and it probably should have been. The screenplay seems to have organized the narrative structure to allow key moments of song. It’s an odd feeling where you feel the absence of a thing rather than the opposite. Nevertheless, 2015’s Cinderella is a heart-tugging take on a classic story that ought to be seen.





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