While watching Ever After, I realized that the only rendition of the classic tale of Cinderella I had seen is Disney's animated version. I became aware of this about halfway into the film, when I noted that it was going to be hard for the director, Andy Tennant, and his writers to include fairy godmothers, talking mice, and carriages that turn into pumpkins after midnight. Like most children's' stories, I have no affinity for this particular fairy tale, but Ever After is a delightfully entertaining re-interpretation of the story.
Drew Barrymore takes center stage in this version, cast as the young Danielle. After the untimely death of her father (she's only eight when he dies), Danielle falls under orders of her stepmother, Rodmilla (a very wicked Anjelica Huston), and stepsisters (Megan Dodds and Melanie Lynskey). Danielle is, of course, a very strong girl because she was raised from an early age by her father. Rodmilla sees this as an advantage, and puts Danielle to hard labor for ten years. When Danielle reaches the ripe age of eighteen, she's a confident and hard-working young woman, in addition to being fantastically attractive.
So, when she meets the Prince Henry (Dougray Scott), heir to the French throne, he's instantly enthralled with her intelligence (she likes to read) and passion (she's a socialist). But, feeling that her status is not good enough for him, she spins a lie in which she pretends to be a rich Baroness whenever he's around. What she doesn't realize is that Henry is looking for his bride, and that her stepsister, Marguerite (Dodds), is successfully attempting to win the right to be his wife.
It takes a lot of talent to wring interest out of a story told so many times, and Tennant proves that he's up to the task. Visually, the film is impressive, with nice cinematography, and fantastic sets and costumes. I never got the feeling that I was watching something artificial, or that any of it took place on a sound stage. Some of the scenes are truly fantastic, such as the infamous ball. It's refreshing to see a Hollywood period piece that actually pays attention to details (although all the actors have British accents, despite the fact that they're living in France).
Tennant is also a gifted storyteller, and he makes this clear in the passion with which this story is told. True, some of the scenes are nearly overdone, but Tennant is a master at payoffs -- there are numerous segments that thrilled me, and had the audience around me cheering with excitement. There won't be an indifferent mind in the house when Danielle finally has her way with Marguerite, or when Tennant shows us the best way to take revenge of a wicked stepmother. And the film never regresses into banality or stupidity -- Ever After is a fairy tale, but it's an imaginative and well-executed fairy tale.
Barrymore is luminous in the lead role. It's nice to see a child actor that actually made it through the teenage years; Barrymore, in addition, was one of the few child actors who had talent. Here, she perfects a British accent (but shouldn't it have been a French accent?), while injecting Danielle with multiple layers of intelligence and strength. She is the heart of this film, and manages to elevate the already-high quality of the overall package. The supporting roles are colorful, particularly from Huston. She was clearly born to play this role; her eyes seethe wickedness even when she isn't speaking. Scott is also very good (and very funny) as the spoiled prince. Dodds, as the bitchy stepsister, is perfect, while Lynskey (who was fantastic in Heavenly Creatures) is likable as the good stepsister.
The previews for Ever After didn't look promising; I expected a thoughtless and dry interpretation of the story. Instead, I got this film, which is energetic and charming -- this is Hollywood storytelling at it's finest. In addition to crafting a great picture all-around, Tennant has discovered the best possible way to avoid the magic spells and talking animals that most people will expect from the story. He deserves double bonus points for that.
By : Nathaniel R. Atcheson
Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup
Rating: 4
Those behind "Ever After" have taken an enormous gamble. In perhaps the boldest piece of counter-programming this summer, 20th Century Fox is pitting its disarming Cinderella story against earth-threatening meteorites, swashbuckling Mexicans, soldiers of both the small and saved variety, not to mention that mean green lizard who's still stomping around out there.
But judging from the reaction of a largely youthful Monday night crowd--and a pretty voluminous one at that--"Ever After" seems to be well on its way to becoming a surprise hit.
What screenwriters Susannah Grant, Rick Parks, and Andy Tennant (who also serves as the film's director) have done here is to come up with a slightly different take on the classic Cinderella fairy tale. Only--and this is what's most intriguing about the film--it's not really all that different. You can't call it a "modern" adaptation of the story, since most of the film takes place in 16th-century France. And simply referring to it as a "live action" version doesn't quite cut it either.
Perhaps the film's closing voiceover explains things best: "It's not that they lived happily ever after, it's that they lived."
The story is the standard riches-to-rags tale of a young girl forced to live and work for her unsympathetic stepfamily and falling for a handsome prince in the process. There are some nice enhancements to the yarn, like the stepsisters not being particularly ugly (one even turns out to be an ally), and the prince not wanting "those certain obligations that come with privilege."
But the true pleasure in watching "Ever After" is believing that this fairy story (attributed to the Brothers Grimm) actually happened to real people.
The film is a big step up for Tennant (whose previous turn at bat was the Matthew Perry/Salma Hayek romantic comedy "Fools Rush In") and he rises to the occasion. While more functional than inspired in the production design department, "Ever After" nevertheless features some impressive French chateaux, "Babe"-inspired rustic settings and, to back all that prettiness up, a George Fenton score that makes more than a casual nod to Mark Knopfler's lyrical musings for The Princess Bride.
Drew Barrymore is the cinders-encrusted Danielle and she continues her stilted acting style that served her well in "The Wedding Singer" (that's two enchanting films for two this year from Barrymore). Her popularity among teenage girls is clearly evident, yet Barrymore manages to win the entire audience over with her genuine smile and plucky joie de vivre.
Dougray Scott, looking partly handsome and partly like Oliver Platt, plays the charming prince Henry, and Anjelica Huston, who appears to have learned a thing or two from the raised eyebrow school of acting courtesy former beau Jack Nicholson, pulls out all the stops as Danielle's wicked stepmother, the Baroness Rodmilla.
"Ever After" might also be one of the few films to feature Leonardo da Vinci solely for comic relief.
Finally, a side note for parents. The film is rated PG-13, but the rating is ludicrous. Save for Danielle's father suffering a heart attack early on in the film, which is no worse than anything in most of Disney's G-rated features, and da Vinci once referring to manure by a more colorful term, there's nothing in "Ever After" that couldn't be seen--and thoroughly enjoyed--by young children.
