{"id":16583,"date":"2021-05-27T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/?p=16583"},"modified":"2024-03-02T21:14:32","modified_gmt":"2024-03-03T05:14:32","slug":"review-cruella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/review-cruella\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Cruella<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let\u2019s start with the obvious: nobody asked for Cruella<\/em>. As has been discussed in relation to movies like Solo: A Star Wars Story<\/em>, it\u2019s not necessary to explain every corner of an established storytelling universe. It\u2019s OK to have mysteries\u2014they can even be part of what makes something good in the first place. 101 Dalmatians<\/em>, while loved by people who grew up watching it, is also not a property that inspires Star Wars<\/em>-level devotion. I remember the animated movie and its 1996 live-action version fondly. There was a Saturday morning cartoon spin-off, and a tie-in with the Disney Channel\u2019s Descendants<\/em> movies. That\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, Cruella<\/em> still waltzes fashionably into theaters this weekend. There are problems, notably a bulky running time and several of those aforementioned unnecessary Solo<\/em>-esque detail drops. However, it\u2019s lovely to look at, and director Craig Gillespie and his I, Tonya<\/em> cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis make sure every lush detail stands out. Emma Stone, as Cruella, and Emma Thompson, as her main rival, deliver delicious performances, with juicy lines co-written by The Favourite\u2019s <\/em>Tony McNamara. If you\u2019re going to make this movie (and the Disney content mill would have eventually anyway), it\u2019s hard to imagine a better lineup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cruella starts life as Estella, a mischievous kid born with two-toned hair. After she\u2019s expelled from school, Estella\u2019s mother (Emily Beecham) takes her to London to start over, but mysteriously dies en route. Estella befriends two young pickpockets in London, Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) and Jasper (Joel Fry), and they become a team. As an adult, Stone\u2019s Estella works for The Baroness (Thompson), a Miranda Priestly-esque fashion designer. After learning the Baroness played a hand in her mother\u2019s death, Estella\u2019s simmering rage and penchant for drama come roaring out in the form of Cruella, her Vivienne Westwood-inspired prankster alter-ego. Cruella plans revenge, enlisting Horace, Jasper and school friend Anita Darling (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) to help. Dalmatians are involved. Animal cruelty, thankfully, is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s fun to spend time in Cruella\u2019s <\/em>\u201870s London setting, partially because of the historical visual hallmarks and also because Gillespie and his team do a good job of world-building. That attention to detail is also what makes the clothes look universally fantastic, whether it\u2019s drab uniforms or high fashion. Jenny Beavan\u2019s costume designs can be gloriously over-the-top, but they feel in tune with the changing trends of the time, best highlighted by the contrast between the Baroness\u2019 more traditional gowns and Cruella\u2019s deconstructed glam-punk approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 134 minutes, however, we\u2019re spending a little too much<\/em> time in that world, engrossing as it may be. Cruella<\/em> suffers from pacing issues \u2013 not because it\u2019s trying to do too much, but bizarrely because it seems content to take its time getting to the point. There\u2019s a lot of setup here that could\u2019ve used a strong editorial hand. Some of this involves obnoxious 101 Dalmatians<\/em> detail inclusions and bow-tying so we\u2019re all fully aware (if we weren\u2019t already) of how this story leads to the events of the one we\u2019re familiar with. It\u2019s unnecessary, and some of these elements feel tacked on out of obligation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s unclear who Cruella <\/em>is for\u2014adults who watched the original 101 Dalmatians <\/em>surely weren\u2019t clamoring for the villain\u2019s backstory, and it\u2019s too long, too slow, and likely too dark for kids to enjoy. But given all that it is, it\u2019s still better than it has a right to be. It\u2019s worth checking out, though it\u2019s unlikely to be anyone\u2019s repeat favorite.\"\"\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B-<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

“Cruella” is in theaters and on Disney+ (Premier Access) Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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