This is the first movie based on the story that I've seen, but I know what it's about. And so it's very odd that the cartoonishly evil villain characterized foremost as "dog killer" is turned into a hero, and the camp and rebel aesthetics co-opted by the film can be well criticized as misused and appropriative. But...it's fun?
I like how the film feels like a whole TV series, with separated arcs and episodes that still build on each other. I like that so much occurs in it. Emma Stone, as well, was an extremely confusing choice when the casting was announced, but man, she makes it work and is really compelling to watch.
Estella is a girl born with black-and-white hair told to be good and not be "Cruella", but when her mother dies at a party, she becomes an orphan thief with two friends. Later, she gets a job at a fashion studio and loves the work until she realizes her boss, the Baroness, has her mother's necklace. Estella decides to let Cruella loose to take revenge and destroy the company she works for.
As a film about fashion, the costumes are wonderful, and Cruella's outrageous stunts and looks are magnetic and enjoyable. It's definitely campy, and the film gives some credit— Cruella's biggest influence is a gay clothing expert, and her dynamic with the Baroness throws back to the origins of camp with catty, glam powerful women going at each other. Still, it feels weird for a modern film to use camp to lift up a character with zero queer subtext, and feels like more of Disney manipulating queer audiences- giving enough flavor to make a movie appealing, but not enough to give interesting queer representation because that scares China.
The Cruella persona is interesting. No wonder people were calling her the female edgy-Joker equivalent, because Cruella delivers those vibes of edge and creepiness, if not very harshly. The film handles it a bit more like Harley Quinn, though, with the Cruella side eventually turning the original persona into the costume. The film explores how dysfunctional Cruella is, but seems to side with it being an acceptable choice as long as she doesn't mistreat her friends. I do kind of like that, but I feel like her traumas go seriously unaddressed, and I really dislike the way the film attributes Cruella to nature as if she's born to be a monster...and she's not even much of a monster in this film. The timeline not matching the original film suggests it's an alternate continuity, and she doesn't actually kill dogs here, so maybe this version of Cruella is just destined to be extra and annoying instead of monstrous, but it's very muddled what she thinks of her morality after all she has learned about herself.
Problematic? Yes. Entertaining? Yeah. Make of it what you will.
De Vil Wears Prada
This is the first movie based on the story that I've seen, but I know what it's about. And so it's very odd that the cartoonishly evil villain characterized foremost as "dog killer" is turned into a hero, and the camp and rebel aesthetics co-opted by the film can be well criticized as misused and appropriative. But...it's fun?
I like how the film feels like a whole TV series, with separated arcs and episodes that still build on each other. I like that so much occurs in it. Emma Stone, as well, was an extremely confusing choice when the casting was announced, but man, she makes it work and is really compelling to watch.
Estella is a girl born with black-and-white hair told to be good and not be "Cruella", but when her mother dies at a party, she becomes an orphan thief with two friends. Later, she gets a job at a fashion studio and loves the work until she realizes her boss, the Baroness, has her mother's necklace. Estella decides to let Cruella loose to take revenge and destroy the company she works for.
As a film about fashion, the costumes are wonderful, and Cruella's outrageous stunts and looks are magnetic and enjoyable. It's definitely campy, and the film gives some credit— Cruella's biggest influence is a gay clothing expert, and her dynamic with the Baroness throws back to the origins of camp with catty, glam powerful women going at each other. Still, it feels weird for a modern film to use camp to lift up a character with zero queer subtext, and feels like more of Disney manipulating queer audiences- giving enough flavor to make a movie appealing, but not enough to give interesting queer representation because that scares China.
The Cruella persona is interesting. No wonder people were calling her the female edgy-Joker equivalent, because Cruella delivers those vibes of edge and creepiness, if not very harshly. The film handles it a bit more like Harley Quinn, though, with the Cruella side eventually turning the original persona into the costume. The film explores how dysfunctional Cruella is, but seems to side with it being an acceptable choice as long as she doesn't mistreat her friends. I do kind of like that, but I feel like her traumas go seriously unaddressed, and I really dislike the way the film attributes Cruella to nature as if she's born to be a monster...and she's not even much of a monster in this film. The timeline not matching the original film suggests it's an alternate continuity, and she doesn't actually kill dogs here, so maybe this version of Cruella is just destined to be extra and annoying instead of monstrous, but it's very muddled what she thinks of her morality after all she has learned about herself.
Problematic? Yes. Entertaining? Yeah. Make of it what you will.