'Cinderella' Review: The idealistic fairy tale has its heart in the right place

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Ben Chaplin, Helena Bonham-Carter, Hayley Atwell
Rating: ***1/2

What it's about: Poor little rich girl. Evil stepmother. Dead dad. Prince Charming. Fairy godmother. Glass slipper. Happily ever after. Admit it, you know how to connect those words.

What's hot: Maybe, it's the Marvel effect rubbing off on Disney, but this fairy tale has its heart in the right—and a very real—place. The soul of this story is Lily as Ella. In her, one sees the embodiment of the core values that we've let go of. It might seem like too idealistic a tale, but it's heartening to see that Prince Charming falls in love with a country girl and not the mysterious princess everyone supposes her to be. She may not be the Cinderella we want (or have grown to identify with), but is definitely the Cinderella we need.
The film scores high on makeup and costuming, production design and VFX. Top-notch post-production and DI ensure the detailing is there in every frame.

What's not: While the film has heart, it's terribly one-dimensional. Bonham-Carter as the fairy godmother was well cast, though I have to admit, there's only so much the actress can do to make her role memorable. A role like that, with such limited scope, does nothing for Bonham-Carter, even as she did dazzles in it (no thanks to the LEDs that only serve to make her dress look tacky). Blanchett, though a vision throughout, was done in by the screenplay. It was her performance, however uninspired, that saw her through what may be her most laboured performance yet. The lesser said about the rest of the cast, the better.

What to do: Have courage, and be kind to the family or girlfriend who you're forced to watch this film with. And if you can get past the "but it's a Disney princess film" stigma, know that it's same-same, but (a little) different. In a nice way.