Walt Disney Pictures
Disney’s animated One Hundred and One Dalmatians is one of the first films I remember seeing at the movies, so it’s been one of those movies that has been a lifelong favorite. It is a bit surprising, even to me, that I have yet to see the live-action remake with Glenn Close as the villainous Cruelle de Vil, but I was just worried a live-action film would be too over-the-top campy and could never match the charm of the animated film. So, to say I was dubious about another live-action film, this time giving us the origin story of Cruella, is an understatement. But I decided to take the plunge since Disney was offering a digital screener to watch at home. Thanks, Disney!
Cruella really is an origin story in that it starts out with the birth of the baby girl, real name Estella, who even then had the unfortunate color-blocked hair. Growing up, Estella was bullied at school because of her hair, but did find one friend in Anita Darling. But Estella decided to fight back against her bullies, earning her the nickname Cruella, and getting her booted out of school. Leaving their small hometown to move to London so her mum could pursue a career as a fashion designer, they make a stop at the home of who mum says is a friend so she can ask for a little money to help them get on their feet. She tells Estella to stay in the car and keep her hat on. But Estella is entranced by the women entering the manor in all manner of fabulous frockery and she can’t help but to leave the car for a closer look. Of course she and her dog end up causing a lot of mayhem at what looks to be a fashion gala, and outside she sees her mother talking to a woman. The next thing she knows, three dalmatians are charging toward the women, knocking Estella’s mother over the railing, plunging into the cold waters below.
Now all alone and believing it was she was was responsible for her mother’s death, Estella makes her way to London and befriends two boys, Jssper and Horace, and they form a little family of thieves (to survive). As adults, the trio continue their wayward career but Estella (Emma Stone) gets a job in a clothing store … cleaning toilets. One night she gets drunk and redresses a window, much to the alarm of the store manager especially as the owner, The Baroness (Emma Thompson), is outside. Coming in, the manager apologizes for the window but The Baroness says it’s the best display they’ve had in years and suddenly Estella has her dream job working as a designer for the top fashion house in London. But the dream turns into a nightmare when she realizes what an awful person The Baroness is, and her treatment of Estella and the others gives birth to Cruella, out to exact her revenge for The Baroness taking all the credit for everyone’s hard work. But … Estella/Cruella uncovers more shocking news about The Baroness that turns her desire to unseat The Baroness in the fashion world to something much more deadly, with Jasper (Joel Fry), Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) and even old friend Anita (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) to assist her.
I have to admit that Cruella grabbed me right from the start and would not let go (even with an aggressive digital watermark emblazoned across the middle of the screen). Tipper Seifert-Cleveland as the young Estella really sets the tone as a little girl who wants to be bad even though she tries to be good, for her mother’s sake. She really breaks your heart when she ends up in London all alone, sitting at a fountain and talking to her mother, the spot where they were to have tea and sandwiches. Her performances made the transition to Emma Stone as the adult Estella all the more believable. Some may wonder why they didn’t just hire a British actress to play the role, but I can’t really picture anyone else at this point playing the young Cruella. Stone has that ability to play the innocent and sometimes meek Estella, and than has no problem at all letting loose to play Cruella. I’ve already seen some comparisons of the character and performance to Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, but Harley is a bit insane where Cruella is dangerously calculating in her every move … even if some of her goals are a bit insane. Either way, Stone makes young Cruella her own with a remarkable performance.
Walt Disney Pictures
That being said, the other Emma in the film, Ms. Thompson, completely and utterly destroys everyone else she’s in a scene with. You really cannot take your eyes off of her. Every facial expression, every hand gesture, every action, every little nuance in her performance is mesmerizing. Even when The Baroness hands out a compliment, she still makes it about herself and Thompson’s performance is just delicious. She owns this role and she totally deserves an Oscar nomination for her performance as the newest Disney villain.
Speaking of Oscars … director Craig Gillespie obviously had a vision for this film and he put it all up there on screen. Set in late 1960s London, the film’s production design is immaculate, from the abandoned house Estella and her pals live in, to The Baroness’ manor to the funky second-hand shop where Cruella enlists another recruit, Artie, into her plot to destroy The Baroness. From dirty and run down to opulent, every dollar spent is on screen. Best Production Design – check. The costumes are breathtaking, stunning, fabulously over-the-top. Best Costume Design – check. Best Hair and Make-up – check. And Gillespie uses that all to his advantage, with an almost constantly moving camera (I assume some shots were done with a drone if they aren’t complete CGI) drawing you even deeper and deeper into the story. His vision for the look of the film and how the actors would play the characters, I believe, is his singular vision and he deserves the recognition for making this work. Best Director – check.
And the music. The music! It can’t be nominated for an Oscar because 90% of the film’s music is a jukebox full of great 1960s and 1970s songs from artists including The Bee Gees, Supertramp, Nina Simone, Nancy Sinatra, The Doors, Ike & Tina Turner, Queen, ELO, The Clash and Blondie. Florence + The Machine also contribute the title song ‘Call Me Cruella’ (which, as an orginal song for the film, is eligible for an Oscar nomination). The soundtrack album does include 15 songs but there are many more that did not make the cut. I’m usually not a fan of soundtracks that just lay in a well-known tune because it often feels like a lazy way to add music, but here it all suits the film to perfection.
I suppose by now you can tell the dubiousness I had going in to Cruella quickly dissipated as I was drawn so completely into Gillespie’s world. I will stand by my assertion that the film is brilliant and I’ll go so far as to call it a cinematic masterpiece.
Cruella has a run time of 2 hours 14 minutes and is rated PG-13 for some violence and thematic elements.
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