Though an increasingly familiar premise, the prospect of a fairytale told from the villain's perspective remains an intriguing incentive to go to the movies. A story centered on one of the most memorable (and truly scary) Disney villains was sure to bring out the legions of dark fantasy fans and supernatural romantics that have multiplied in the last decade or so. Add the talents of Angelina Jolie and Robert Stromberg (special effects artist of Avatar (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)) to the mix, and I was getting excited.
This summer's Maleficent is a solid Disney remake (or, rather, re-imagining) of a Disney film. It certainly doesn't succeed as well as, for example, 101 Dalmatians (1996), but it does surpass Tim Burton's promising and severely disappointing Alice in Wonderland (2010). I would compare its success at re-visioning a classic to Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994) in that it works as a film, but corrupts the source material in surprising and unsatisfactory ways.
Given the film's clever premise and Lana Del Rey's haunting "Once Upon a Dream", I anticipated a very dark 90 minutes. And while Maleficent certainly is dark, it is not intense. It's hardly even tense. Though it hints at twisted motivations and erotic subtext, the film never explores these intrigues. As a PG fantasy adventure, I can't say I expected these things, but I had my hopes. The characters' motivations are murky at best, and the ambiguity is never justified. And the film's tone is a bizarre mess; I feel more confused about the implications of this re-imagining of events now than I did after watching the trailer. If the film was making a statement about living in a moral gray-area or appreciating desperate measures or something, I would be fine with tonal insecurity. But it doesn't make a definitive artistic statement that could lead me to that conclusion.
The film languishes in its own computer-generated beauty, wasting valuable time with long scenic overlooks and fairytale creatures that look like they came out of a video game. Whereas Sleeping Beauty (1959) is largely memorable because of its heavily stylized artwork, Maleficent's setting and action sequences feel like any number of recent fantasy films or video games.
Angelina Jolie, however, doesn't disappoint. Her performance is intense, subtle, vicious, intelligent; she obviously did her homework and comes to this circus ready to fly (literally). How refreshing to see a strong, truly independent woman who is thoroughly feminine and avoids being a "villain". She is a powerful leader, able fighter, and manages to do it all with a black silk nightdress and impeccable makeup. Her costumes are exquisite, ranging from a smoky sheer shroud to an ebony satin cocktail gown topped with a leather headdress. The unsettling combination of soft, smooth, and glittering fabrics provide a lot of room for Jolie to play with her character's power and sexual appeal.
She is not fully evil; indeed, she is hardly depicted as evil at all, which feels dangerously contrived at times. Though I loved the original character's demonic liaisons, this new manifestation works as a result of Jolie's efforts. My one misgiving in the portrayal of Maleficent's character is that she doesn't even curse Aurora to death, but rather to slumber. I suppose that goes along well with helping us believe her growing love for the young princess.
Jolie thoroughly sells the loving (if resentful) mother-role, and brilliantly underscores it with an eroticism that shocked and delighted me. And the true love twist at the end, though recently familiar, was a very welcome plot device. My lasting appreciation to the filmmakers, however, goes to one crucial element of the story: As Maleficent starts to embody a mothering figure to the young Aurora, she retains all of her strongest character traits. Maleficent is the feminist equivalent of a Marvel superhero, you might say. Too bad this woman has to exist in a fantasy world while the Avengers are allowed into modern reality.
One final thought: I now crave a film tribute to Tallulah Bankhead. Three women come to mind who have proven themselves worthy to portray the goddess: Angelina Jolie, Glenn Close, and Cate Blanchett.
Think about it. You're welcome.
IMDb: Maleficent
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