A Reel Review: CRUELLA

One of the more useless trends in Hollywood in the last decade has been the villain solo-movie; a film featuring a Big Bad minus his or her usual adversaries; adversaries that make the bad person be bad. Warner Bros. had mixed results with JOKER in 2019, and the less said about the VENOM garbage from Sony Pictures the better. Disney gave it a shot with ho-hum results with MALEFICENT in 2014, and this year they try to learn from their mistakes with an origin story based on the classic Disney villain from their 1961 animated, and 1996 live-action films, 101 DALMATIONS. 

 

After the death of her mother, Estella (Emma Stone), is orphaned on the streets. With her new friends Jasper (Joel Fry), and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser), she grows up as a petty thief before finding employment with Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson); a ruthless head of a London fashion house. 

 

Directed by Craig Gillespie, CRUELLA has a lot of plot to get through. The early goings spend time with Estella as a child; going through her tough upbringing, rebellious nature (earning the Cruella nickname from her mother), her love/hate relationship with dogs, and the untimely (and somewhat suspicious) death of her mother. The film takes a while to find its footing; footing that comes when Estella begins to suspect that the Baroness may not be who she says she is. This leads Estella to secretly take on her Cruella persona; a mysterious woman who upstages the Baroness’ high-profile media events and fashion shows. It’s a clever twist on the old hidden-identity we’ve seen in superhero films for decades, and it works well. 

 

While the main plot focuses on the building blocks for the Cruella character we’ve known for five decades; including her car, last name, and fashion sense…director Craig Gillespie is also working with plenty of sub-text. The film takes a good look at mental illness, the Have’s vs. the Have Not’s, and the persecution of those who are born different. There is a depth to the film that does indeed make the Cruella we are familiar with a deeper character. 

 

For a film that runs over two hours, pacing is tight and light and a lot of fun. The comedy, coming mostly from Jasper and Horace, is very well timed and never gets ridiculous. CRUELLA is backed by pop music selections from each era, and every song selection is specifically chosen for the situation at hand. Set design is terrific, and the costumes tell a story of their own; each one tailored for the scene. 

 

Acting is excellent. Emma Stone shows a dark and vulnerable side and some terrific range. Emma Thompson is one hell of a villain, and the show is nearly stolen by Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser. Mark Strong is rock-solid, as always. 

 

CRUELLA offers a twist or two in the third act that many may see coming, but in broad strokes serve the story well. As an origin tale it clicks all the necessary boxes, and by making Cruella’s worst enemy her own self, it seems that Disney has finally cracked the code in getting a villain’s solo story to work right. This is as good as bad can be. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it