Amazon Studios’ 2021 “Cinderella” movie is different than any other version of the fairytale that has been released.
Written and directed by Kay Cannon (“Pitch Perfect”), this modern remake is reminiscent of what the creators of “Hamilton” set out to do; give an old classic a modern make over. While “Hamilton” was very successful in this endeavor, “Cinderella” flopped.
Camila Cabello, in her first acting role, plays the role of Cinderella. While other prominent names like Idina Menzel (“Frozen II”) and Billy Porter (“Like a Boss”) have key roles in the film, they fail to elevate it in any way.
In this version of the classic story, Ella is living in a male-dominated world and does not fit in like the other girls. She is loud, outspoken and daring. Her passion is dressmaking and her dream is to sell her dresses.
Likewise, Prince Robert (Nicholas Galitzine, “The Craft: Legacy”) does not fit in his royal family. His father wants him to marry for political reasons, but he is not so keen on the idea. These two cross paths and Ella is initially reluctant to the idea of love and only wants to sell her dresses.
While the plot sounds like it could make a great movie, it is generic and the acting could be better. The big difference between this film and other “Cinderella” films is that several of the songs in this film are covers of other songs. While this puts a fun and unique spin on the traditional fairytale musical, the choice of songs was awkward at times and hard to watch. The most out of place moment comes when “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran is performed, and the viewer is left wondering how this song fits in the movie. Cabello, while having a great voice, does not fit the songs that she sings in the film.
“Cinderella” does have some standout moments, Including instances of comic relief from James Corden (“Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway”), who plays a mouse that turns into a human.
The interactions between the king and queen, Pierce Brosnan (“False Positive”) and Minnie Driver (“Modern Love”), are also standout moments of the movie. The two characters are seen quarreling over their son’s, Prince Robert’s, marriage, and while there are cheesy moments between the two the seasoned actors, they are ultimately very entertaining to watch.
The cinematography of the movie is easily its best qualitiy. The bright colors and flow from scene to scene work well to keep the audience engaged.
It is clear this film did not do the story justice. We have seen the recent trend to do modern remakes of classic Disney films, and while some have been successful renditions of classic stories, films such as “Cinderella” are just cringeworthy. Because it very loosely followed the source material, it did more of an injustice than a service to the fairytale classic.
Image from Amazon Prime Video via YouTube
