![\"cinderella](\"http:\/\/behindthelensonline.net\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/cinderella-ballroom-entry.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe first live action adaptation of a beloved animated Disney classic, in this glorious retelling and reimagination of Charles Perrault\u2019s fairy tale, Branagh and company sweep us into the world of make believe and fantasy while celebrating Charles Weitz\u2019 modernized strong and independent Ella, more commonly known to all as CINDERELLA.<\/p>\n As opined by director Branagh,\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s unusual with this film as you sit down and watch it and you realize that everybody in the audience knows what\u2019s going to happen; from the 5 year olds to the 95 year olds . . .it\u2019s not what\u2019s going to happen.\u00a0 It\u2019s \u2018how\u2019s he going to do it?\u2019.\u00a0 Staying true to the core elements of the story, \u201cthe invitation cinematically – like the return from the ball, the clock strikes midnight – and all the fun you could have. . .was a lovely invitation\u201d and feeling comfortable that he \u201cwould find the how\u201d, Branagh and his team believed that \u201cwe could deliver these moments and deliver them because they are classic moments.\u201d\u00a0 With the requisite touchstones of the Perrault story – young Ella losing her father, the introduction of the evil Stepmother and ridiculous ugly stepsisters – Branagh insures joy within the audience with joyous touches of Disney\u2019s 1950’s animation like Cinderella\u2019s mouse \u201cGus Gus\u201d and his little mouse family, Lucifer the cat, Mr. Goose, the pumpkin patch (albeit now inside a greenhouse which now bodes for some hilarious moments to showcase Helena Bonham Carter\u2019s comedic skills as Fairy Godmother) along with the ever present duo of bluebirds of happiness that pop in and out at significant moments.<\/p>\n Distinguishing this live action CINDERELLA from not only Disney\u2019s animated classic but the multiple other versions of the tale that have been cinematically told over the decades, is the strength and individuality of character development, most notably with Cinderella herself and the Prince, who now has a name for the first time – Kit.\u00a0 Scribe Chris Weitz elevates the spirit and character and the soul of Cinderella so that she is no longer \u201cjust waiting for a fella\u201d.\u00a0 She also loses the passiveness we have come to expect while garnering a deep understanding of why she stays and endures life with her stepmother and sisters.\u00a0 Keenly aware of the \u201cDisney responsibility\u201d, Weitz and Branagh take the opportunity to create some pause for reflection in a story that can be influential to a new generation of young girls and boys and do so most successfully. According to Branagh, \u201cThere was a real sense that we wanted to say, \u2018It doesn\u2019t matter who you are or what you are.\u00a0 What you are and who you are is good enough, and so is everybody else\u2019s good enough.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Prince Kit also gets a modern spin as he is no longer relegated to looking handsome astride a mighty steed.\u00a0 Kit has backstory.\u00a0 He has not been sheltered in the palace.\u00a0 He has seen battle and come out the other side and, in a true revelation, Kit has established friendships with some of his men, particularly the Captain of the troops.\u00a0 The brotherly camaraderie and good-natured ribbing is refreshing, providing a well-rounded character rooted in the real world while easily fitting into the opulent and magical fantasy.<\/p>\n Casting is sublime starting with Lily James as CINDERELLA.\u00a0 With a captivating and engaging easy effortless generosity of spirit, James radiates a kindness and strength befitting this modern heroine – and yes, I say heroine for the independent spirit she exhibits to little girls today.\u00a0 With both an elegance and lovely tomboyish quality, James\u2019 authenticity equally resonates be she racing through the meadow on a horse or waltzing in a ballgown under 270 yards of fabric. It bears noting that James did all of her own horseback riding (and she had never ridden prior to CINDERELLA) and all of her own dancing.<\/p>\n Enchanting is the chemistry between James and Richard Madden\u2019s Prince Kit.\u00a0 The two fit together like two peas in a pod, complementing one another with equal strength and, let\u2019s face it, equal good looks.\u00a0 Madden exudes strength and command in his very stance, yet a loving tenderness in touching scenes with Derek Jacobi who plays his father, The King.\u00a0 Jacobi, always adding gravitas to any cinematic or theatrical proceeding does just that here.<\/p>\n As mentioned above, a new layer to the Prince is his backstory of life and the friendships and respect Kit has among his men, most notably with his Captain.\u00a0 Long a favorite of mine, Nonso Anozie is a more than welcome as Captain.\u00a0 As we have seen from Anozie in other roles, beneath his hulking strong physique is humor and heart, both of which are on display here.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s \u201cHelly\u201d as she is affectionately referred to by Branagh.\u00a0 Helena Bonham Carter is beyond fun as the Fairy Godmother.\u00a0 Allowed to play with the character and create a duality as both a poor beggar woman touched by Cinderella\u2019s kindness whose magic – although not always perfect – then kicks in, Bonham Carter delights with playful lightness!\u00a0 Almost gleeful in certain scenes, she also brings maternal touch to the performance as we see a winsome glance when Cinderella rides off to the ball in the golden coach.\u00a0 A real testament to her skills as an actress, Bonham Carter\u2019s physicality belies the weight of her opulent Marie Antoinette like costume, some 131 yards of fabric studded with over 10,000 Swarovski crystals overlaid on restrictive\u00a0 corsetting and a crinoline cage wired with 450 LED lights and multiple battery pacs under the dress.\u00a0 One look at her and you feel the magic.<\/p>\n But the real scene-stealer is Cate Blanchett.\u00a0 Deliciously oozing evil, thanks to razor-edged performance, icy vocal delivery and enunciation, and those ever-arching eyebrows, dressed with a nod to the fashions of 1940’s screen goddesses, Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis and Marlene Dietrich, Blanchett could every easily see herself listed among Oscars nominated Best Supporting Actresses come next February for her performance as Lady Tremaine.\u00a0 Blanchett is as powerful in presence as the opulent sets and posture-defining costuming and a welcome addition to the gallery of Disney villainesses.<\/p>\n Notable is Stellan Skarsgard as the manipulative Grand Duke who makes a perfect partner in crime to Blanchett\u2019s Tremaine while Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera are ridiculous fun as polka-dot garbed stepsisters Anastasia and Drisella, respectively.<\/p>\n Truly glorious is Patrick Doyle\u2019s fully orchestrated score which has a poetic lyricism laced with softness and sumptuousness.\u00a0 A timeless musical expression, expect Oscar to come knocking on Doyle\u2019s door as well.\u00a0 Key to the visual poetry of the film, the score plays throughout as a beautiful undercurrent.\u00a0 Branagh and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos then design the visuals in tandem with the lyricism of the scoring, capitalizing on sweeping crane shots that pan and swoop much like the little CGI bluebirds aloft on a summer wind, immersing the audience in a fully sensory experience.\u00a0 Electing to shoot on film (thank you very much, Ken Branagh!) as opposed to digital, and using anamorphic Panavision lenses, Branagh and Zambarloukos create a tangible lushness that harkens to the classics like \u201cGone With the Wind\u201d, \u201cThe Wizard of Oz\u201d, \u201cThe Age of Innocence\u201d and, in the case of the sweeping shots, \u201cAmelie\u201d.\u00a0 Excited by the \u201ccurious paradox\u201d of the cinematic possibilities, Branagh succeeds in taking \u201ca world of magic that had been in many people\u2019s minds a cartoon\u201d and \u201cmak[ing] it feel as real as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Standout for Zambarloukos and Branagh are two scenes in particular – CINDERELLA entering the ballroom and the Fairy Godmother transforming a tattered pink dress into the Swarovski and butterfly encrusted blue costume masterpiece.\u00a0 In the first, the entrance is captured with a single camera pan what swirls around the ballroom giving both a slightly surreal voyeuristic POV and Cinderella\u2019s POV concurrently.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lovely – and difficult – move to execute so perfectly on both a visual and emotional scale.\u00a0\u00a0 The latter involves a bit of CGI as the single 360 camera movement encircles CINDERELLA as she spins amidst a cloud of sparkles.\u00a0 Breathtaking, both.<\/p>\n Creating that reality required the construction of physical sets and thanks to production designer, Dante Ferretti, there was \u201cno blue screen, no green screen.\u201d\u00a0 With baroquely styled opulence, the physical construction and meticulous design and attention to detail of each set is immersive.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t take long for one\u2019s eye to try to see every little nook, cranny and detail of each room, from wallpaper pattern to sewing basket to dishware to floorboards.\u00a0 Obviously the centerpiece of the film is the ballroom which is a 360 degree construction, resulting in a feeling of actually being in the palace, being there, when the room is filled with the actors and extras.\u00a0 Describing his approach to filming CINDERELLA as that of “a classical approach”, Branangh determined that “we looked for some of the classical tools in terms of the cinema game.\u201d<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the costumes. . .and the \u201cpiece de resistance\u201d – the glass slipper. Calling on the talents of costume designer Sandy Powell, as with the ballroom, the fashion centerpiece of the film is twofold; the blue ball gown and the glass slipper.\u00a0\u00a0 Light in look (but with 270 yards of fabric and 10,000 Swarovski crystals), the ballgown wafts like a summer breeze as CINDERELLA waltzes and runs, giving the illusion that she is floating on air.\u00a0 Using a new polyester fabric she found called umisma, Powell describes it as being \u201clike smoke\u201d in the way it moves.\u00a0 Using different layers of soft pastel colors of umisma to create the water color effect we see on screen, the result is beauteous.\u00a0 Similarly, another showstopping costume is the white gown worn by Helena Bonham Carter whereas the 1940’s inspired heavier satins and hats in emerald greens, golds and blacks that adorn Cate Blanchett stun.\u00a0 Even the men\u2019s costumes are perfection as Powell, focuses on a military look for all, adding multitudes of tiny Swarovski crystals that don\u2019t appear visible to the naked eye on screen, but which catch the set lights.\u00a0 Colors again are devoted to richer blues, greens and golds for the Prince and the palace, with Powell admitting to being taken by Richard Madden\u2019s \u201cfabulous blue eyes\u201d which meant everything designed for him\u00a0 \u201calways had to have a bit of blue going on.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n