Maleficent (2014)
Country: US/GB
Technical: col/2.35:1 97m
Director: Robert Stromberg
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Sam Riley
Synopsis:
A re-imagining of the Sleeping Beauty tale from the perspective of a wronged fairy queen turned sorceress.
Review:
Generally refreshing and wholly appropriate moral re-alignment, in which traditional Manichaean story dynamics are replaced by a more Freudian interpretation: it is the withdrawal of love and submission to irrational fear and hatred that bring about all the evil the world needs to destroy itself. Visualisations draw on a resourceful use of the Disney castle, together with hefty doses of such as Tinkerbell and Epic for the wonderland vistas. The forest of Mirkwood from the Hobbit seems to inspire the enchanted wall of thorns, meanwhile. A trio of squabbling fairies make dubious narrative sense for a king so insecure, but provide light relief for younger audiences, while an imperious Jolie and her crow-like servant (Riley) keep us in touch with the deep vein of melancholy coursing through the film, beneath all the sound and fury.
Country: US/GB
Technical: col/2.35:1 97m
Director: Robert Stromberg
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Sam Riley
Synopsis:
A re-imagining of the Sleeping Beauty tale from the perspective of a wronged fairy queen turned sorceress.
Review:
Generally refreshing and wholly appropriate moral re-alignment, in which traditional Manichaean story dynamics are replaced by a more Freudian interpretation: it is the withdrawal of love and submission to irrational fear and hatred that bring about all the evil the world needs to destroy itself. Visualisations draw on a resourceful use of the Disney castle, together with hefty doses of such as Tinkerbell and Epic for the wonderland vistas. The forest of Mirkwood from the Hobbit seems to inspire the enchanted wall of thorns, meanwhile. A trio of squabbling fairies make dubious narrative sense for a king so insecure, but provide light relief for younger audiences, while an imperious Jolie and her crow-like servant (Riley) keep us in touch with the deep vein of melancholy coursing through the film, beneath all the sound and fury.
Country: US/GB
Technical: col/2.35:1 97m
Director: Robert Stromberg
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Sam Riley
Synopsis:
A re-imagining of the Sleeping Beauty tale from the perspective of a wronged fairy queen turned sorceress.
Review:
Generally refreshing and wholly appropriate moral re-alignment, in which traditional Manichaean story dynamics are replaced by a more Freudian interpretation: it is the withdrawal of love and submission to irrational fear and hatred that bring about all the evil the world needs to destroy itself. Visualisations draw on a resourceful use of the Disney castle, together with hefty doses of such as Tinkerbell and Epic for the wonderland vistas. The forest of Mirkwood from the Hobbit seems to inspire the enchanted wall of thorns, meanwhile. A trio of squabbling fairies make dubious narrative sense for a king so insecure, but provide light relief for younger audiences, while an imperious Jolie and her crow-like servant (Riley) keep us in touch with the deep vein of melancholy coursing through the film, beneath all the sound and fury.