Courage and Kindness: A Cinderella Review

As I've said often, movies have such a wonderful way of moving us and making us think. Disney movies, in particular, hold a great deal of significance for me; I may be a tad sentimental but I believe they are filled with so many relevant bits of wisdom that can apply to every day life. Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing Disney's live action adaptation of the classic tale of Cinderella, it was visually stunning as well as entertaining and heartfelt. This is a truly beautiful and certainly quite moving film, that retells the beloved fairytale in a very human way without surrendering any of it's original charm.

The casting in this movie was phenomenal, all of the actors perfectly embodied the spirit of each of their characters respectively, while adding layers of depth. Lily James (Downton Abbey) gave new life to the character of Ella, she was not simply a girl waiting to be saved by a handsome prince but rather her own unique person with motivations and emotions. She was genuinely caring, thoughtful and deeply hopeful, as the movie states, "Saw the world not only as it was, but as it perhaps could be." 

Opposite this inspiring attitude was the Evil Stepmother, Cate Blanchett delivered a spectacular performance that was able to combine cruelty with both style and intelligence. This was such a captivating portrayal of this sinister character, a person who had truly become bitter with life and who had decided to exploit others to get what she felt she deserved. She was true to the wicked brilliance of a Disney villain. 

Other notable performances included Helena Bonham-Carter as the bumbling Fairy Godmother and Richard Madden (formerly Game of Thrones) as the prince. Helena Bonham-Carter did a wonderful job of capturing the essence of this magical caretaker and also lent a very fun level of clumsy humor to the character. Madden was able to bring an added likability to his character of the prince, he also had great on-screen chemistry with Ella and an interesting dynamic with his father, the king.

An idea that was present during the course of the film, was that of the true power positivity holds. In a very emotional scene early on in the movie Ella's mother, played by Hayley Atwell (Marvel's Agent Carter), gives her daughter a simple yet powerful bit of advice, “Have courage and be kind.” Ella takes this to heart throughout the course of the movie, she never gave up hope and treated every person and creature alike, with compassion. I personally believe this is such a strong message and great way of going through life. 

Ella certainly went through a great deal of hardship and loss but always kept going, grief was only a temporary state. No matter how difficult things may have gotten, nothing could take away her happy memories. Ella's stepmother and stepsisters took to calling her Cinder-Ella to demean her, however, in the end she reclaimed it as her own badge of courage. When she and the prince were finally reunited, he asked her name and she proudly replied, Cinderella! Being a major Disney enthusiast, I was happy to see that this was a fitting tribute to the 1950 animated film as well as a wonderful, new stand-alone movie. See this film if you need a little magic in your life, it is well worth it.