- Date of Release: 03 September 2021
- Genre: Fantasy, Musical
- Language: English
- Watch On: Amazon Prime Video
Cinderella
Introduction
Quickly onto the next new release of the werkend and I have finished watching the new Amazon Original Cinderella on Amazon Prime. I have been a sucker for fairy tales right from my childhood. Right from the bedtime tales of my grandma to some magical story books that have laid the foundation for the same. One of the best known fairy tales has got to be Cinderella which actually makes you believe in magic. There have been several silverscreen adaptations of the film as well including the 2015 Disney film which I really liked. Is this brand new adaptation of Cinderella able to weave its magic, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
Cinderella is the modern adaptation of the famous Fairy Tale, a classic story of rags to riches with a lot of magic thrown in. Quite honestly the story is a classic in itself and it would do some doing to spoil it, in other words you just cannot go wrong, right? Right? Wrong! The screenplay is a royal mess. This is a musical which was a great thing but somehow right from the opening scene there was this unsettling feeling, probably a feeling of getting on with things that was doing the rounds. Was it to do with the tried and tested approach or just simply the vibe of the film, I cannot be quite sure of. The sequences created are just too bland and vanilla with little to no soul in them. Quite honestly the screenplay was a bit of a slog that kept stretching throughout. And the twist in the second half towards the end would have been a good one had it been in another universe. The magic of believing in things was just missing her. Usually I do have some positives, well here probably the costumes and the production design are quite good but if I am mentioning them under the “screenplay” category then you would know that the screenplay is indeed a royal mess upto a point that I didn’t care towards the end as to where this film was taking me.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are forgettable, nothing much to shout about. The music is probably the strongest point here which is ironic as this is a musical and still not upto the mark, the BGM is good too. Director Kay Cannon just loses the plot completely, in fact she direction is ordinary right from the very beginning. Probably more emphasis was given to costumes and other gimmicks and not much on the story and screenplay which is the foundation of any film.
Performances
The performances are pretty ordinary as well. Usually the reliable Pierce Brosnan over compensates as King Rowan. Idina Menzel as Vivian is alright. Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Robert is just average. It is only Camila Cabello as Cinderella who manages to impress. She does a fine job, trying hard to save a sinking ship. Although she isn’t able to rescue the film but she does quite a good job which is a green mark in her acting report card.
Conclusion
Cinderella is a royal mess. Try skipping this one and instead revisit the 2015 one from Disney. If you still wish to watch this 2021 one then it is available on Amazon Prime. But be warned, steer clear!