Cruella

Cruella
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Kategori : 2021 comedy Cruella Disney drama Emma Stone Emma Thompson Joel Fry Mark Strong Paul Walter Hauser review Stream thousands of movies and TV shows free INCINEMAX

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion (or other commenters), that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching!  A genre that shows little creativity and change with a director who is nothing but his own created tropes.  My favorite villain that is super horny to kill puppies and turn them into a coat.

Cruella – 4 out of 5

I don’t hate 101 Dalmatians but, if I am being honest, it isn’t my favorite Disney film.  I think I watched it enough as a kid to get my fill of it but, still being honest here, when the original promotional image of Emma Stone as a younger, punk rock-leaning Cruella de Vil hit a couple years ago I definitely became interesting in what this story had to offer.  Well, I sat down with Cruella and was kinda surprised at how much I enjoyed it!  It’s not perfect but it is way better than a completely random origin story about the character needed to be.

No spoilers but this movie re-contextualizes the classic Disney animated
feature in a weird and slightly sadistic ways.

Disney villain origin or Sia biopic?

Before she was on a mission to kill and skin a whole host of puppies in the name of fashion, Cruella was known as Estella Miller and her mother was attempting to give her a normal life.  However, after her mother dies, she is left alone on the streets with nothing but her wits and her two new friends; Jasper and Horace.  As she grows up, Estella (Stone) finds herself in the employ of the cruel fashionista Baroness vol Hellman (Emma Thompson).  While working there, she realizes that it was the Baroness who was responsible for the death of her mother and she decides to embrace the wickedness that her mother tried to get out of her by giving her a normal life.  Estella adopts the moniker of Cruella and, with the help of Jasper (Joel Fry), Horace (Paul Walter Hauser), and a clothing store owner named Artie (John McCrea), she begins a campaign of gaslighting and a war of attrition as she works to steal the spotlight away from the Baroness.  However, it isn’t long before she not only succumbs completely to the devilish alter ego but also learns a horrifying secret from her past.

Seriously, are we sure this isn't about Sia?

That dress comes with a blind spot.

I’m not the type who makes arguments that certain types of films and pieces of art and entertainment are not asked for or wanted.  I think it sounds entitled but I will say that an origin story for Cruella de Vil is not something that ever crossed my mind.  With that being said, the trailer sold me, and the casting of Emma Stone just seemed too cool to pass up.  This movie is already at a slight disadvantage because the comment section will cry about originality and do so through the overuse of reaction gifs, and telling the tale of antagonists is a hard balance to achieve because it can easily come off like messy Edgelord bullshit like Joker or it can come off like you are excusing a bad person’s behavior by trying to make them overly sympathetic, like Rob Zombie did with his Halloween remake.  However, in Cruella, I found the film walked the line terrifically and managed to avoid the problems of something like Joker and delivered an origin story that was entertaining and wasn’t shying away from the idea that, at her core, Cruella is still a pretty wicked person.

Cruella is Legion and she is many!

The story and the origin of Cruella isn’t earth-shatteringly new, but it definitely worked for the character and created a tale that was definitely entertaining and engaging.  It makes great use of the elements that were already established about her in the other features we’ve seen the character in, and I definitely dug the punk rock aesthetic approach.  The tale struck this great balance that showed the character very much is a wicked, partially evil character that definitely is out for her own gain and to watch someone’s world burn but, at the same time, they also show that there is a victim of circumstance at play here.  It made Cruella a character that was easier to invest in and engage with than it was with something like the Joker (my apologies but I will be comparing the two a lot).

Her dancing in public spaces was even better and wasn't accompanied
by a song from a pedophile.

Visually, this film is also a delight thanks to its recreation of the 60s and some absolutely incredibly costumes and sets.  From the moment the film begins, the costumes do a great job of relying on the look of the era but, at the same time, being just a dash over-the-top with the look too.  This gives the overall foundation a slightly alt vibe and makes this new world of Cruella stand out when compared to other features with the character.  Additionally, from the moment Estella decides to utilize this Cruella side of her in her battle against the Baroness, we are treated with some truly astounding fashions and looks.  I am in no way a fashion forward person—hell, I can barely dress myself and have pretty much stuck with cargo pants/shorts and t-shirts for nearly my entire existence—but the looks in this film were captivating and just demanded attention.

"I'm here to chew bubblegum and gaslight the hell out of my boss...
and I'm all out of bubblegum--wait, I have another piece.  Whatever,
I'm still gonna gaslight and torment my boss."

One thing that really surprised me about the film was the music selection.  Cruella de Vil doesn’t really strike me as a Disney character that would work well with iconic rock tracks from the 60s, but this film provided a very extensive list of tunes from that era and they all worked amazingly well with the images and the arc of the character.  Literally, every few minutes a new classic track showed up and fit the narrative extremely well but, if I’m being honest, had me rocking along the way.

Bowie?

Finally, the performances in this film are terrific.  Both the Emmas are outstanding in their own way.  Whether it is the wickedness and underlying vulnerability seen by Stone as Cruella or Thompson’s own wickedness with an underlying terror for what is happening to the Baroness, both these women are just absolutely captivating and fun to watch.  I also really enjoyed Joel Fry’s performance as Jasper and seeing him question what Estella is doing.  Additionally, Paul Walter Hauser and John McCrea are very amusing as Horace and Artie, and Mark Strong is his usual awesome self as the Baroness’ valet.  Overall, the cast is tremendous in the film and I really enjoyed them.

Mark Strong is always a welcomed addition to any cast, in my book.

The only aspect of the film I wasn’t a fan of is the fact it does feel a little too long.  The movie is just a little over two hours and that does feel a little long for something like this idea and property.  Due to this length, there are definitely times where it comes off like the brakes are hit hard and all momentum slows down to a crawl as heavier development sequences take place.  Cruella never gets boring but there is no denying that there are moments that are less engaging than the more entertaining and exciting portions and it felt like its length plays a big role in this.  I couldn’t help but think that maybe a few small edits here and there throughout the film could have helped a lot and also assisted with telling a more streamlined and efficient tale.

The two characters I forgot existed in the cartoon proved to be two
characters that were exceptional and memorable in this film.

Tales about antagonists are always tricky.  They can go overboard and look like they are glorifying awful villainous behavior and the product gets uncomfortable and Edglordian.  Other times they can lean too hard in the other direction and make the villain look too sympathetic and try to act like they are the true victims.  Cruella is able to ride that line of showing that the character does have some tragedy that help craft her but also acknowledge that she already had some underling evil within her that she comes to embrace.  It has the right balance of saying she is both a villain and an antihero and it does it with style, great music, and awesome performances.