The costumes in this movie were gooooooorgeous. I don't know if it will bring home a statuette, however, because it is up against three period films and one futuristic film. I think it might come down to a question of personal taste for the Academy voters. Or cronyism. There's always that.Young Ella (Lily James) is dealt a hand of tragedies when her beloved mother (Hayley Atwill) dies and her father (Ben Chaplin) marries the beautiful but cold-hearted Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) before dying himself. Left with her stepmother and two wretched step-sisters (Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera), Ella tries to make the best of things. By chance, she meets a handsome man (Richard Madden) in the woods. She doesn't know it but he is the Prince of her country and is holding a ball to determine who he should marry. Smitten at first sight, he arranges to have the invitation open to all young women, regardless of social status. Ella's stepmother has no intention of letting the pretty blonde pull focus from her last attempt to secure her daughters' futures and forbids her to go. Fortunately, help arrives in the form of a fairy godmother (Helena Bonham-Carter) but of course comes with a time limit.
As a re-telling of the Disney version of the fairy tale (the actual printed version is much more gruesome), it is very nice, very pretty, and continues the trend of live-action reboots. It wasn't as soupy or saccharine as I was privately expecting. I think that's because the performances weren't over-the-top. Cate Blanchett was riveting and has the most evil laugh I've heard in a while. Lily James had a much harder role, being the perpetually good-natured Cinderella, but managed to pull off wide-eyed innocence without looking like she'd been lobotomized.
I might end up buying this one. I'm not 100% yet, but I could be persuaded.
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