CINDERELLA

GRADE: A
Starring Lilly James, Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi
Screenplay by Chris Weitz
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Rated PG (parental death, mild peril)
Reviewed by Paul Gibbs

Cinderella is not a film I was anticipating with much eagerness. The truth is, I have enough issues with romantic fairy tales to write a 10-volume series of 700 page tomes on the subject, and feel in their own way they are often more damaging than something like 50 Shades of Grey. In addition, I consider Disney's current game plan of remaking its animated classics as live action films a genuinely horrifying prospect. Finally, as both a writer and a feminist I consider Cinderella herself the worst protagonist in the history of fiction, someone who never takes a single action of her own and idealizes helplessness and waiting to be acted upon. I tell you all of this because it's important that you understand how unlikely it is is for me to be telling you that Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella is a sublime enchantment that will likely make my list of the best films of 2015.

Lily James of TV's Downton Abbey stars as Ella, a sweet young girl whose beloved Mother (Hayley Atwell, Marvel's Agent Carter) passes away, leaving Ella's father (Ben Chaplin) grieving, and eventually remarrying the austere Lady Tremaine (two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett). Form here the story plays out in a traditional manner, with the cruel stepmother and bratty stepsisters forcing Ella (who they nickname "Cinder-Ella" after seeing her covered with ashes) to do all of the work and generally have a miserable life, until they are all invited to a ball thrown by the Prince (Richard Madden).

What's so amazing and joyous about Branagh's film is first that it manages to add a great deal of depth and humanity to the story beyond what any other version has (including, in subtle ways, making the heroine more proactive and self-actualized) and that it does so without becoming winkingly revisionist or betraying one of the most beloved stories in history. This is Cinderella, and it's Disney's Cinderella, but it's also a film that stands on its own, never feeling like a mere retread of the animated classic. Branagh and his team have, visually and technically, painted a beautiful picture, and Branagh, screenwriter Chris Weitz and a first-rate cast give it the kind of vivid dramatic life that Branagh's better Shakespeare adaptations had (and in fact stick to a far more classica, less self-consciously Hollywood style than some of his later ones did). James and Madden are both delightful as the respective romantic icons, making us fall in love with both of them, and adding a layer of genuine feeling that goes deeper than insipid "love at first sight" cliches (this is a Cinderella who wants to go the ball to see a friend, not because she dreams of being rescued by a rich Prince she's never even met). The always exquisite Blanchett adds pathos to Lady Tremaine, showing us the pain of a woman who has suffered great loss and lived with knowing that she was never truly loved by her second husband (Ella's father). Helena Bonham Carter is back to being a good kind of quirky as the Fairy Godmother, and Derek Jacobi is gives an excellent turn as the King. Even the mice are well represented as non-speaking characters (though some of the other animals get a chance to speak in an unexpected and quite clever way).

In his recent films as a blockbuster director-for-hire, Branagh has curbed the self-indulgent excesses that lead to his downfall as an auteur (thank heaven he's developed enough humility to know he's far to old to play the Prince), but we're also seeing in some of them a distinct touch of his unique creative vision, and it's even more plainly on display here than it was in Thor. Make no mistake, Branagh, not Disney, deserves the credit for taking what could have been a soulless exercise in profit-mongering and turning it into an engaging, enchanting film that reminded even me how joyous a romantic fairy tale can be in the hands of someone with true sensitivity. It's a beautifully rendered work of art with a lot of heart at its center, and with the perfect amounts of visual splendor, characters we truly care about, drama, humor and even a dash of adventure, it's a movie movie, exactly the sort we go to a theater to see.

Cinderella is rated PG for some mild adult themes (such as the death of Ella's Mother) but is suitable for all ages.