No rest for the wicked
Maleficent doubts her fitness as a mother. So did Angelina Jolie.
ANGELINA Jolie is again up to her wicked ways in Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil.
But for the Oscar winner, playing the Disney villain is about a lot more than winged costumes and horns.
“It reminds me and I hope others that there’s a part of us that is just unbridled.
“We just have to be who we are. We can’t be less than what we are. We can’t be less honest. We can’t be less fierce,” Jolie said.
“We have to find ourselves and be free with it and be okay with it.”
Horn-wearing fans and reporters alike clamoured to get close to the star on the red carpet outside the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on Sept 30, as Jolie reflected on how she relates to the character’s latest dilemma – parenting young adult Aurora (played by Elle Fanning).
“For Maleficent, considering she is the mistress of evil, I think she’s doing a pretty good job,” she told reporters with a laugh.
“You know, the father’s a bird. We know we have some severe issues going on.
“(But) she’s trying her best. And I think where she fails is that she doesn’t believe in herself. She doesn’t believe that she’s a good mum. She doesn’t see herself as a mum.
“I questioned when I was first a mother whether I was good enough. And I think that a lot of good mums questioned whether or not they’re good enough,” Jolie – who walked the red carpet with 5 of her 6 children – continued. “And I think there’s nothing wrong with that.”
In the sequel to the 2014 live-action hit, Jolie reprises her role as the iconic Disney villain, alongside Fanning’s Aurora and franchise newcomer Michelle Pfeiffer (Queen Ingrith).
Of joining the Maleficent
team, Pfeiffer said: “The highlight has been being able to work with this gifted group of actors ... I was really excited to work with Elle and Angelina.”
The film’s release also aligns with the 60th anniversary of Disney’s animated classic Sleeping Beauty.
Fanning – who channelled her inner Aurora, wearing a princess-style Gucci dress creatively adorned with blood droplets to represent Sleeping Beauty’s pricked finger – explained how the role of a Disney Princess has evolved since the animated film’s debut.
“The world we are in is evolving, you know, in many ways – maybe not in great ways with some things,” Fanning said.
“But with cinema, we have to portray the world, project what we want to see in the world, especially for our youth and our young girls and boys too. So, I hope it’s going, moving forward.”
She continued: “I think with this film, it certainly is. We have three female women at the centre and they’re using their strength and their power in very different ways. And Aurora, for me, she’s just staying true to herself.
“(In) a lot of films, they put you in armour and make you have a sword and they’re like, ‘That’s strong.’
“And Aurora uses her head and she’s honestly the wisest of the three. She’s the most level headed.”
Jolie also made sure to credit the men of Maleficent, such as director Joachim Ronning, co-writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, and actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, with allowing their female colleagues’ strengths to flourish.
The feeling was mutual for Ejiofor, who plays a new character, a dark fairy named Conall.
“She just brings such a complete, just everything to it – this real, all-encompassing energy and real knowledge of what she wants to do,” he said.
“Her projects really do represent her worldview ... I admire her so hugely as an actress but also as a force in the world.”
A force, indeed: A running theme ahead of the screening was Jolie’s immense influence on the film, which seemed to reach as far as Maleficent’s enveloping wingspan – from its fantastical costumes to its girl-powered soundtrack.
“She’s pushing everyone around her to be the absolute best,” director Ronning said.
“It was in every part of the process . ... spending months with the screenwriters, getting it right. The angle of her horns, of course, the wardrobe, the colour of her lips – hours and hours of relentless hard work.” – Agencies
Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil opens at GSC cinemas nationwide on Oct 17.