Oh no…Disney’s done another live-action remake. The good news is that Cruella is more creative and certainly better looking than usual. The bad news is that it’s also devilishly simple and the laughable plot twists are so last season.
Craig Gillespie, known for 2017’s I, Tonya, brings his comedic grit to the director’s chair, and there’s something satisfyingly similar about these two movies. Both are a bit better than average, but also focus on the backstories of famously vilified women. The only difference is that this lady’s fictitious.
The selling premise is the movie shares the prequel backstory to Cruella de Vil, one of cinema’s most well-known villains. Born Estella, (Emma Stone) the film actually centres on her relationship with 1970s London fashion design mogul “The Baroness” (Emma Thompson) and their mentorship-turned-rivalry.
Sadly, it’s horrendously predictable, with the real cruelty being two hours getting spent on a story with plot less engaging than a picture book. One detail in the overlong prologue is particularly stupid, with the inciting incident of Cruella’s story is hard to forgive.
Worse than being predictable is being predictable for so long. The film is more than two hours long, and it doesn’t get really exciting until the last 40 minutes. Before that, it’s just endless exposition and a quick, gimmicky necklace heist.
The best part by a mile is the cast, led by both Emmas as villainous women with charisma to spare. Who’s more surprisingly great are Joel Fry and Paul Water Hauser (re-teaming with Gillespie after I, Tonya) as theives-turrned-henchmen Horace and Jasper. These guys backstory is actually more heartfelt and nuanced, plus they have great chemistry together. Fry is a notable standout.
All four actors in this quartet are fabulously engaging, though the only thing better than their performances are the clothes they’re wearing. I’m pleased to say that in a film about fashion design that the clothes are consistent scene-stealers.
I’m not just talking about the haute fashion either. The work clothes, criminal disguises, party costumes, butler uniforms, and of course, all the outfits in storefronts and studios are all thanks to costume designer Jenny Beaven (10-time Oscar nominee and winner for Mad Max: Fury Road) amounting to one of the most lavish and fantastically character-driven costume designs of modern cinema.
Gillespie’s best instinct is the fluidity of his camera. Stable shots slither in an out of clothing racks, narrow corridors, studio tables and hidden exits for a quick escape - all the common places Cruella de Vil would be slithering in, with follow shots that mimic the silky way she moves through the world.
The most interesting part of Cruella’s character is that it’s especially Dalmatians she doesn’t like…but as a girl and young woman, her best friend was another dog. How Cruella (or at that age, Estella) and her relationship with animals evolves is one of the few interesting developments she makes as a person.
It’s a shame the story is so nonsensical, because the cast is so good! They’re also clearly having a great time being let loose to play baddies. The production value is also top-notch with magnificent sets and even more magnificent costumes.
So who is Cruella for? The plot is too dark and macabre to be a family film, but it’s still rated PG for Disney cleanliness. The target audience is likely young adults wanting something in between, but they don’t have the whopping $40 price to rent it at home.
This might’ve been worth $10 admission at a cinema, but even in a full household, this film is the first time I can’t recommend the cost even if you want to see it. It would have been overpriced even if it was a better film, unlike the superior Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon.
Speaking of those, a quick note about Disney’s continuing business practices: this is the third time a major release starring multiple female characters has been sidelined and relegated to Disney’s overpriced pandemic experiment.
Even worse, the next two movies getting this treatment (Black Widow and Jungle Cruise, both in July) also feature female protagonists. These cheapskate business decisions while cinema continues recovering from needs to end, and I (as a movie writer) in no way endorse it.
In short, Cruella is definitely fashionable and it eventually becomes fun. It’s just sadly out of season.
Cruella
6 out of 10
PG, 2hrs 14mins. Crime Drama Comedy.
Directed by Craig Gillespie.
Starring Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, John McCrea and Mark Strong.
Now streaming on Disney+ for subscribers (and playing in cinemas outside Halton Region.)
