Cinderella

This review may contain spoilers!

This is one of the most beautiful and well made films I've had the pleasure of watching this year. I would give Cinderella an 8.5/10.

Cinderella is an incredibly well written film that frankly outshines the classic Disney animated film. Within it we see some brilliant pacing as well as fantastic new scenes that really expand upon character's backstories and personalities. You also have to admire the cinematography and editing within this film, every shot celebrates what is created in this film, in essence a true fairytale world. To compliment this the music is beautiful, a truly inspired score that adds to the magic of the film. The special effects are also great, with some exceptions, and really sets the bar for future fairytale films to come.

Cate Blanchett, who played the Stepmother, was really impressive as the film's antagonist; she brought a lot of depth to a role that originally lacked it. Richard Madden, who played the Prince, really did make a charming character out of his role; his every moment onscreen felt strong and charismatic. Nonso Anozie, who played the Captain, was quite an enjoyable minor role; he was comedic but also a really great counterpart to Madden. Derek Jacobi, who played the King, brought a great father figure image to the film; his chemistry with Madden was great and his death was a true blow to be felt. Ben Chaplin and Hayley Atwell, who played Ella's Father and Mother respectively, were some of the most heartfelt performances of the film; the tragedy around their stories at the start of the film is incredibly strong thanks to their incredible performances.

However in my opinion the best performance of this film was Lily James, who played Cinderella. I'm not normally one to find the lead the best performance but this film thrives on James' performance. She really embodies the heart, the compassion and the kindness of her role; you love this character because she really does feel so good. James also captures the tragedy of Cinderella, we see her grief and her sorrow and we also feel it. Not only is this the best performance of this film but it's some of the best acting I've seen this year.

I really think the CGI animals was a bit poorly done; it made the film suffer in the same way the first Hobbit film did. That is it looked like something made for a film rather than something from a fairytale world. The film was also let down by it's tendency to diverge to concentrate on minor character's and events; it happened far too often and it really took away from the film.

Helena Bonham Carter, who played the Fairy Godmother, became an annoying performance very quickly; I'm sick of seeing the same thing from Carter in her performances this flippant crazy mood swing. Stellan Skarsgard, who played the Grand Duke, was a minor antagonist that really felt like a push to keep the plot moving; his sinister presence really felt like no threat at all. Sophie McShera and Holliday Granger, who played Drisella and Anastasia respectively, are best described as scene stealers for all the wrong reasons; their over the top performance pushed it's way into every scene they were in to the extent that you became tired of watching them.