‘Cruella’ paints a more sympathetic, but still delirious portrait of a woman driven by her sense of style and desire to be at the forefront of fashion.
If someone were to casually take a poll measuring the popularity of Disney characters in recent years, it would be immediately obvious the studio’s villains are as popular as their princesses and anthropomorphized creatures. As one evil personality touts, “It’s good to be bad.” There isn’t any one specific or shared trait that inspires an admirer’s fascination with these fictional baddies, but there is something very appealing about their wicked ways. It’s been a long time since the plight of more than 100 dalmatians graced the screen, but as much as their adorable tale of survival made a lasting impression — so did their kidnapper. Cruella is the maniacal fashionista’s live-action origin story.
After unexpectedly finding herself alone in the world, a young Estella (Emma Stone) wanders the streets of London. Fortunately, she comes across two other vagabond children, Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser), and they agree to look out for each other. Years later, the makeshift family are expert thieves and con artists. Estella uses her natural talent as a designer and seamstress to create convincing disguises so they can more easily evade capture. However, her dream is to one day work with The Baroness (Emma Thompson), London’s leading fashion designer. When she finally gets her big break, she does more than impress her idol — she endears her with her tremendous gift. But their precarious relationship takes a turn when Estella realizes they share a deeper connection. Bent on revenge, Estella unleashes her alter ego, Cruella, and vows to overthrow the queen of London’s fashion scene.
It’s fun to play the villain and Stone definitely has a blast. Estella is a crafty, practical young woman who tries to blend in, but is typically outed by her wild personality. At her mother’s behest, she spent most of her life trying to repress Cruella, but once she’s unleashed, everyone takes notice. She’s bold and uninhibited, and not afraid to take risks, particularly with her style. To some extent, her transition is reminiscent of Michelle Pfeiffer‘s Catwoman awakening in Batman Returns. Each personality has a distinct style, as one runs a bit more commonplace and the other is ostentatious, making a statement that demands attention — but both are eye-catching. In addition, the stunts they carryout to upstage The Baroness are nothing short of spectacular, from an impromptu, traffic-stopping runway to a garbage truck joyride.
Thompson has similar fun as this story actually carries two wicked characters for at least part of the picture, though The Baroness’ behaviour is far more ruthless. It’s easy to draw comparisons to Meryl Streep‘s character in The Devil Wears Prada, as both women lead their organization by being unrelenting and severe. On the opposite end of the spectrum are Jasper and Horace, whose physical traits somewhat match those of the Disney cartoon characters of the same name. They’re very loyal to Estella/Cruella, but they’ve not yet become jaded and support her because they’re family, not because they’re frightened of her. Dogs also play a key role with Estella’s faithful accomplice, Buddy, Horace’s adorable little one-eyed thief, Wink, and The Baroness’ three beautiful dalmatians.
Director Craig Gillespie keeps up the film’s tempo with an awesome soundtrack, featuring pop, rock and punk anthems from the ‘60s and ‘70s, including Deep Purple’s “Hush”, The Rolling Stones’ “She’s A Rainbow”, Zombies’ “Time of the Season”, Blondie’s “One Way or Another”, Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy”, Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and The Doors’ “Five to One.” There is also plenty going on to keep audiences entertained, but at 134 minutes, one starts to feel the last half-hour. It’s difficult to decide what, if anything, could have been cut, but perhaps it could use some tightening to pull it back to two hours. Regardless, the battle for London’s fashion crown is fabulous and fun.
Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson and Joel Fry
