Maleficent. Rated M
(fantasy themes and violence). 97 minutes. Directed by Robert Stromberg. Written
by Linda Woolverton.
Verdict: A
glorious reimagining of a classic fairytale.
Here, possibly for
the first time this year, is a film that justifies not only its every precious
moment on the big screen, but a film that will fire the imaginations of its
target audience to an inestimable degree. This is a Sleeping Beauty for our
time, where the kiss from an impossibly handsome prince (Home and Away’s Brenton
Thwaites) just might not cut it any longer.
In her flawless
adaptation of Charles Perrault’s original fairytale and Disney’s animated
classic Sleeping Beauty (1959), Woolverton gloriously reimagines the evil Maleficent
(Angelina Jolie), with Jolie gliding, striding and soaring through the story
with an astonishing performance of immense range. The scene where Maleficent
wakes to discover that Prince Stefan (Sharlto Copley) has cut off her wings in
order to claim the throne, justifies the price of admission alone.
Sam Riley (On the
Road) is a revelation as Diaval, Maleficent’s loyal shape-shifting raven, and
the witty banter he shares with her lends the film a much-needed lightness of
touch. As do Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton and Juno Temple as the trio of
hapless fairies who are charged with caring for the princess Aurora (Elle
Fanning) until the day after her sixteenth birthday, when Maleficent’s
‘sleeping curse’ will end.
Stromberg’s career
in art direction (he won Best Achievement in Art Direction Oscars® for Alice in
Wonderland and Avatar), sets him up perfectly to rule over the film’s grand
visual style and effects, while the cinematic command of veteran Australian
cinematographer Dean Semler is ever present. Recalling the magic of waiting for
the page of a book of fairytales to be turned, we wait with breathless
anticipation to see what these masters of their art will create for us next.
And they never disappoint.
This review was
commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
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