Cruella

Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, John McCrea, Emily Beecham, Mark Strong, Kayvan Novak, Kirby Howell-Baptiste
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows Estella's (Emma Stone) journey to become the infamous Cruella de Vil.

Review:

Tim: Although I had hopes that Cruella would be good, I kind of didn't expect it to be. Sure, it's a wonderful vehicle for Emma Stone. But, I think we have to pause and ask if we needed this film. Did we need an origin story of Cruella de Vil? We really needed a film where the villain of One Hundred and One Dalmatians is a sympathetic antihero? The answer to this question is clearly no. Now, I know people were excited about this movie for some reason. Craig Gillespie does a decent job with the film, but it never truly answers the question of why this movie exists.

I actually think the film would have been better had the exact same story been told, but not connected to Cruella. The idea of a young orphan girl who gets a job in fashion, claws her way up, and eventually discovers more about her origins, is actually pretty solid. The story is hurt by the fact that the main character is an attempted puppy murderer (eventually). I will give the writers credit, they concocted a decent story. There was absolutely no reason for this film to be 2 hours and 14 minutes, though. Gillespie directs a very bloated movie.

I'll have some other complaints, but I do want to focus on some positives. Emma Stone is remarkable in the lead role. She was hampered by the realities of the character and the context, but she did a fantastic job of bringing the character to life. She actually made Estella a sympathetic character. Eventually, the weaknesses of the script do impact her performance (several scenes feel forced), but mostly, Stone delivers the kind of performance you'd expect from such a talented actress. Emma Thompson was good, too. It felt like a bit of an obvious role for her- she borrows from Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, but also from her own performance in Late Night. It felt like a safe choice, but you can't deny Thompson is quite strong here. Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser both add strong supporting performances. I really enjoyed Mark Strong's smaller supporting role, too. The film at least assembles a strong cast for the film- that's one of its biggest strengths.

I will say that the costume designs for the film were incredible. This might be the film's greatest strength. Stone wears countless outfits and they are all expertly done. I wouldn't be surprised to see this film nominated for an Academy Award in this category.

Now, back to some complaints. I did parts of the story. The ones that felt new- a young girl trying to make her way into the fashion world, upstaging her horrendous boss, emerging as a new cultural icon- those scenes were interesting and more often compelling than not. That part of the film had a stronger foundation. The problem is where that original story tries to connect to the elements from One Hundred and One Dalmatians that it falls apart. There's a few dalmatians in this movie and their inclusion felt pointless, forced, and absurd. They were included to "explain" Cruella, but they never made any kind of logical sense. The same can be said for including Anita Darling and Roger. I'm all for being inclusive, so I appreciated that aspect. The problem is that their characters didn't really add to the story. They were included as a connection point, but it hurts the overall film. There were several other instances where the connections watered down the actual story.

This film also suffers from what so many movies featuring villains tends to trip over. They wanted to tell a story about a bad person. But, to appeal to a broad audience, you can't just embrace the villain's villainy outright (although I would love for a film to try this). So, you have to take a "bad" character and make them more sympathetic. Makes sense, but it waters down who they are. And you're left watching a movie that wants you to like the main character while simultaneously reminding you that they aren't actually good and you kind of shouldn't like them. But mostly you should, for the movie's sake. The story wasn't quite sure about this and it translates into the viewing experience.

I will say that Cruella still shouldn't have been made. But, if they were going to make it, Stone was an inspired choice and Thompson adds so much with her presence. I know a lot of people liked this bloated, unnecessary movie. I didn't. I admit it has some positives, but it's only a decent movie- clearly, not a good one.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Maleficent