![]() ![]() No blatant attempts at inserting a mega dose of girlish empowerment or the slapping on of a feminist message. Even the recent “ Into the Woods” featured a disillusioned Cinderella played by Anna Kendrick.īut director Kenneth Branagh, the Shakespearean actor who successfully launched the comic-book-inspired “ Thor” franchise, eschews any such shadings in his story of the abused orphaned girl who wins the heart of a handsome prince. Other recent retellings of storybook favorites by the studio such as “ Alice in Wonderland” and “ Maleficent” reshaped the material for 21st century tastes, turning Lewis Carroll’s heroine into a pro-active warrior and upgrading the villainous fairy in “Sleeping Beauty” into a misunderstood victim. Into this shifting atmosphere waltzes “Cinderella,” Disney’s dazzling live-action version of its 1950 animated classic. Instead, Gaga materialized as a lilting vision of loveliness in a floaty lily-white frock and delivered near-perfect renditions of “The Sound of Music,” “My Favorite Things,” “Edelweiss” and a soaring “Climb Every Mountain” with an admirably unflinching reverence.Īnd the Twitter-verse, which has apparently replaced the Gallup Poll as a gauge of public opinion, exploded with thunderous approval. A bikini-wearing nun smeared with schnitzel with noodles would not have been out of the question. No one would blame anyone for expecting the pop singer, known for such outlandish stunts as donning a meat dress at an MTV awards show, to inject some ironic commentary about the sentimental classic into her performance. This apparent sincerity revival went global when it arrived in the form of Lady Gaga’s Oscar-night performance of a medley of Rodgers and Hammerstein songs in honor of “The Sound of Music’s” 50th anniversary. But save for a couple “Twilight Zone”-style dream sequences, the filmmaker adhered to telling the true story pretty much as it happened and focused on building sympathy for its main subject. Given the inherent creepiness of Keane’s waif portraits, many expected Burton’s humorously sinister sensibilities to seep into the beatnik-era clash of low art and high drama. One of the first signs of this turnabout might have been Tim Burton’s approach to last year’s “ Big Eyes,” a biopic about Margaret Keane, the mid-century kitsch queen of the art world, and her struggle to regain credit for her work from her con-man husband. Basically, warmth is slowly becoming the new cool. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |