Cruella Movie Review: Worth a Watch for Emma Stone's Fabulous Performance and Eye-Dazzling Fashion Wars (LatestLY Exclusive)

Cruella Movie Review: Cruella might have released straight on Disney+ on May 28, but Indian viewers only have the fortune to watch this 101 Dalmatians spinoff only recently, as Cruella streams on Disney+ Hotstar from August 27. Cruella stars Emma Stone in the lead, stepping into the large shoes of the great Glen Close who played Cruella De Vil in the original live-action films. Cruella is directed by Craig Gillespie based on a screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara. Cruella: Before Emma Stone’s Disney Movie Arrives, 5 Spinoff ‘Origin’ Movies We Enjoyed in the Past.

Like with Maleficent, Cruella is the origin story of a popular Disney villain with an obsession of wanting to make coats out of Dalmatian skins. Cruella is born with the name Estella and a condition that makes her hair have two colours (?). Her mother is a poor seamstress, and Cruella's problems at school, more so for being bullied there for her hair, leaves her without money in seeking new admissions.

To gain more money, Estella's mother seeks a favour from someone she knew, and that gets her killed. Orphaned Estella ends up in London where she joins the pickpocketing duo of Jasper and Horace. Even as adults, the trio continue their criminal activities till Estella has a change of mind, and wants to pursue her mother's line of career - boutique. And she can't find a better employer to learn that in the haughty, high-profile and malevolent Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson). If Miranda Priestly was remodelled as a Disney Villain, that would be her!

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Cruella has so many rough edges, but it still maintains to be entertaining all along. It brings all the problems that we usually see in a origin-prequel movie (Maleficent, Solo: A Star Wars Story). The idea to turn an out and out villain into something more sympathetic is a new fad in Hollywood now, easier done when the person is pitted against someone crueler. In this world, you would always find that one person anyway.

But Cruella takes about doing the 'turning evil' story of its main character by strewing it with rough fan-servicing moments, like how she got the name we know her by now (no prequel has managed to find a smooth way to do that). Cruella 2: Emma Stone Confirmed to Reprise Her Role of Disney Villain; Oscar-Winning Actress Signs Deal to Return in the Sequel.

If you haven't seen 101 Dalmatians and its sequel, and enjoyed Close's scenery chewing performance, you would truly enjoy this film. But if you keep that character and depiction in mind, you will find Estella's transformation into Cruella (which is done so suddenly that it hurts) filled with loopholes and rough shoehorning. Like, the reason why Cruella would come to hate Dalmatians (the last scene would definitely annoy you, in how Cruella is also made the main factor how 101 Dalmatians came into existence in the first place).  Equally annoying is trying to establish a personal connect between the protagonist and the antagonist, which is such a cliched trope now. See Maleficent (again) and Joker, for example.

And yet, Cruella manages to be endearing more so because it retains the Disney's charm in setting an entertaining film filled with punch moments. What also works is in casting two terrific actresses in the lead roles. Emma Stone is an absolute blast as the younger Cruella, turning her anti-hero role away from the looming shadow of Close. I still don't buy her switch from Estella to Cruella, as it felt more like the script demanded so, and yet Stone makes that transformation so easy to watch, that you can just grin and bear.

Emma Thompson is a treat in any film she is in, and here, she rails up the evil factor to a fashionable high without going into a cackling mode. Mark Strong, a wonderful actor, is stuck in a trite role.

And if you are someone with tastes in fashion designing, Cruella is quite the treat. The kind of outfits that Estella and Baroness come up with, and their fashion wars are absolutely eye-dazzling, and gets the film some of its best brownie points. With some sizzling cinematography and terrific production design, Cruella makes up much more in the visual department than in story-telling.

Yay!

- Emma Stone

- The Fashion Wars

Nay!

- Weak Origin Story With Shoe-horned Fan-servicing Moments

Final Thoughts

Cruella doesn't escape the trappings of a flawed prequel movie, and yet within its flaws, it manages to be a charming, entertaining and eye-dazzling one. If you are an Emma Stone fan, the charms works better! Cruella is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 27, 2021 06:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).