Maleficent is the perfect combination of a strong and universal story, which, based on the symbolic of fairy tales’ imaginary, touches many generation thanks to a colossal budget ($200M) and a profitable patrimony from the Disney Studios. Then, without any surprise, the visual is «magic », « enchanting », with supernatural creatures that worth the best concept arts: A well-developed Disney between the originality of the Alice by Tim Burton and the marketing strategy from the Snow White from Universal with Kristen Stewart. Once must admit, since the time we once heard about the film, it could not have afforded any mistake.
I quickly go through the directing, since with Angelina Jolie in the leading role, I can only underline the obvious: it is working, you instantly agree with the concept and there is actually no more to say.
Since I am not a child anymore, when I watched the movie, I had the strange sensation that this story, not to say THE tale, was told to me like it was the first time. Indeed, the true master stroke of the movie remains in the story and the development of the plot. Why? Concerned of not giving away any crucial detail or any spoil, I will just say that the film is like a fundamental questioning, a confession of a hidden truth, that you should not rely on appearances, and what you see, think or believe might be a lure disclosed for a long time.
How an entertaining film, thought for large audiences, with no surprise, manages to be so relevant to our reality, revealing fundamental trends of our society?
- What if this film is actually about a bad divorce?As a matter of fact, there is a real trio between the king, the paternal figure, Aurora, the young girl who is looking for answers and then, Maleficent, the hurt woman. Through the story, there are tensions, secrets and taboo, but also joyful moments, which suppose the hard hesitation a child can live when his or her parents go through a difficult divorce. It is rather interesting and quite modern.
- What if the most grateful stories were the ones with women as heroes?Maybe you have heard; behind each great man there is a woman. Here, the movie completely acknowledges this modern feminism by directly puts its focus on the female characters, almost blaming men to cause all the shame of this world (especially war). But careful, even though the film plays with a very trendy « women power », not all the female characters can enjoy this characteristic. The three « kind » fairies, not to say the three « dumpies » are strongly criticized transformed into ridiculous caricatures and symbols of women in society from another age. Modernism against traditionalism, the war is declared between the female characters. Men are here simply watching, pretty much unsuspicious in front of such situation. After Tangled, Brave and now Aurora, the princes are whisked away! Plot or justice, here is the common opinion plenty assumed in our society nowadays.
- What if the movie is about making us feel the guilty pleasure of expecting the worst until we forget the best? It is true that just watching the trailer you know you will contemplate THE true female villain in all her malice and her great dark powers. The brambles, the dragon, the curse, you have to admit there is something so great to see villains evolve in movies! As a second chance therapy, those films focused on these characters fundamentally evil, are the occasion for us to accept their dark sides and put away the idea of a way too black and white reality. Finished the silly princess, symbol of virtue, and the evil queen, improbable catch-all of the possible troubles. Now this is about a question of cause-consequence effects between the choices and the reactions of the different characters. Consequently, this is not the showing of an unchangeable situation but the explanation of an evolving reality. It seems this opposite stance is quite stigmatic of people willing to re-appropriate our traditions, our values, our legends (and so tales) to better build our own History, our own paradigm. Great contradiction and so, nice effort from Disney!
As you can see, I suggest many questions without being sure this movie reveals any answer, but it has been a WHILE since I have not wonder so much with a Disney. Thanks to the screenwriter! Hats off to the artist.
