Last Updated on: 11th July 2023, 10:30 pm
Imagine “The Devil Wears Prada” on steroids in 1970s London, with Anne Hathaway being more vengeful than meek. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
When I first heard about “Cruella”, the live-action Disney genesis story of the “101 Dalmatians” villain Cruella de Vil, I might have rolled my eyes a little.
It is me who comes back in time to withdraw the rolling of my eyes: “Cruella” is an absolute rush, and if you’re looking for a reason to go back to the theater this is it. It’s coming to the Disney Plus streaming platform this weekend.
The fashion alone, designed by the great Jenny Beavan (Oscar winner for “A Room With a View” and “Mad Max: Fury Road”), is worth the ticket price.
If that doesn’t work for you, there’s also the cunningly brilliant work of Emmas – Stone, and Thompson – who work hard to showcase the gorgeous outfits they’re wrapped in.
Directed by Craig Gillespie (“Me, Tonya”, “Lars and the Real Girl”), “Cruella” looks like an imaginative superhero movie, but with fashion instead of superpowers (In fact, fashion is a superpower).
Like all origin stories, it begins with a look back: Young Estella – Cruella is a teasing nickname given by her loving mother for the dark side of the little girl – has trouble adapting like a child thanks to his two-tone hair and quick temper.
Her mother accepts that the two of them are moving to London, but something terrible happens along the way.
About 15 years later, Estella (Stone) is a sour designer who survives from her street intelligence but dreams of becoming a fashion designer.
An opportunity at a prestigious London department store – Liberty’s, which wonderfully manages its star tour – turns into a job at The Baroness (Thompson), the world’s most famous fashion designer.
Am I telling you Stone and Thompson are formidable opponents?
Stein, speaking with a dark British syrup accent, makes Estella / Cruella slightly wild and mischievously intelligent; She has a way of blinking at people who make you fear they might catch fire. (At some point she rightly wears a red dress that appears to be made of fire.)
Thompson, staggering under turbans and huge buns of hair – the baroness’s appearance is a bit out of date; Estella is a cutting-edge London punk – a queen who despises her kingdom.
“Go” is his most common word that is pronounced with disgust. although I enjoyed giving birth to an unfortunate maid from “You Are” through clenched teeth.
The way. While there is never any doubt who will prevail in this fight of will – the film isn’t called ‘Baroness’ after all – it’s a fair fight and you have rooted for both of you.
With music from the 70s and an insanely chic feast for the eyes, “Cruella” is a growing pleasure right through to its surprisingly sweet coda (stay at the beginning of the credits).
Bring the summer movie season!
If the rest is so much fun … well, we all deserve it now, don’t we?
