A lavish-looking fairytale
Tonight, 6.15pm TVNZ2 This 2015 Disney live-action reimagining of one of its classic animated adventures is a lavishlooking, finely nuanced take on Charles Perrault’s fairytale which will delight audiences of all ages.
Having recently segued from his traditional Shakespeare to the world of Stan Lee (with 2011’s Thor), director Kenneth Branagh combines the requisite majesty with just a touch of magic, while Chris Weitz’s adaptation adds some piquance and poignancy to the central dysfunctional family dynamics.
It might follow the traditional Disney script of always helping an old lady and never trusting a grand duke, but there’s some lovely life lessons about kindness, courage and punctuality among all the flowing frocks and talk of fairy godmothers.
Not only adding gravitas to what could have been a fluffy, frivolous project, Branagh also brings along some of his acting mates. Sir Derek Jacobi (looking like an older version of Branagh himself) gives the ageing King some heft, while the likes of Rob Brydon and Helena Bonham Carter provide some much needed levity.
However, the film’s real stars are Downton Abbey’s Lily James – so luminous in powder blue – as the eponymous ashen-faced, but open-hearted orphan Cinderella, and a bewitching Cate Blanchett as her scheming stepmother. – James Croot