Maleficent review

Title: Maleficent
Director: Robert Stromberg
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville, and Juno Temple
Release Date: May 30, 2014
Rating: PG

 


The Verdict: It's rushed and tonally inconsistent, but breathtaking visuals, a powerful message, and Angelina Jolie's fantastic performance make Maleficent a thoroughly entertaining modern fairy tale.

7.5 out of 10.0
 
 "Visions are seldom all they seem." Lana del Rey sings these haunting lines over the end credits of Disney's latest live action fairy tale flick: Maleficent. For those that are unaware, Maleficent is the horned villainess of the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty. Maleficent tells us the tale of just what drove the title character to curse an innocent infant to a "sleep like death." 

 Our tale begins when Maleficent is a small girl, bearing tall horns and powerful wings, growing up in a peaceable, albeit eye-popping forest kingdom. She encounters Stefan, a human who lives outside "the moors" and befriends him. As teenagers, they fall in love, only to grow apart as they move into adulthood. Now a young woman, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) defends the moors against the attacks of a corrupt human king, while Stefan (Sharlto Copley) finds himself more and more drawn to the human kingdom, and the riches and power it holds. After being defeated in battle, the human king decrees that whoever eliminates Maleficent will succeed him as ruler. Hearing this, Stefan, lustful for power, journeys back to the moors. After drugging Maleficent, he cannot bring himself to kill her, so he severs her great wings from her back. Overcome with grief and obsessed with revenge, Maleficent descends into darkness and transforms into the character we know from the original animated film. In retaliation for Stefan's betrayal, Maleficent arrives at the christening of his daughter, ready to bestow her own "gift" upon the child.

 Like the lead character, who dances back and forth between light and dark, hope and bitterness, Maleficent has a few flaws as well as benefits. First, the not so great. The story is painfully rushed. It seems director Robert Stromberg was determined to make his movie as short as possible, and so a lifetime of character development is crammed into a 97 minute film. This is particularly damaging to the film during its first act, in which Maleficent transforms from innocent and pure-hearted to wrathful and vicious in the span of twenty minutes. There are so many aspects of the movie that could have been expanded upon, making the film richer and it's characters more relatable. But Maleficent instead opts to sacrifice character development and believability by rushing through its story at a breakneck pace. 

 In addition, the film is extremely inconsistent in its tone. Overall, Maleficent is fairly dark for a Disney film. The scene in which Maleficent realizes her wings have been "stolen," is one of the most traumatizing images I've ever seen in a Disney movie. Additionally, Maleficent herself can be quite unnerving, and a climactic battle between Stefan and our lead character is hardly suitable for kids. Yet at the same time, there are scenes where Maleficent goes overboard to play up the film's family-friendliness, with sequences featuring lovable forest creatures and the ever-giggling princess Aurora. (Elle Fanning) This causes the film to be very inconsistent throughout, as if it's never quite sure what kind of movie it wants to be. A family-friendly fairy tale in the vein of Frozen, or a dark revisionist fantasy akin to Snow White and the Huntsman.

 In addition, the film dramatically alters the final act of the original film to paint Maleficent in a more positive light. No, she doesn't hold the heroic Prince Phillip (Brenton Thwaites) prisoner. No, she doesn't transform into a dragon. In this 2014 edition, the word "villainess" hardly applies to Maleficent. She has far more in common with Elsa of Frozen than she does with the animated sorceress she is actually based upon.

 However, these faults hardly render Maleficent unenjoyable. There's plenty to love, beginning with the film's breathtaking visual effects. From the very first shot, we're treated to a wondrous view of sprawling green fields and towering mountains occupied by all manner of fantastical creatures. Regardless of the plots or dialogue of Disney's live-action efforts, the visuals are always undeniably stunning. The scenes where Maleficent puts her wings to use and takes to the skies are particularly thrilling to view.

 But as impressive as Maleficent's effects are, they are utterly outshined by Angelina Jolie. Jolie is fantastic, from start to finish. As producer Joe Roth said quite simply: "There was no point in making the movie if it wasn't her." And Jolie perfectly captures every aspect of Maleficent's journey. Her devotion to her homeland, her shock and grief at her betrayal, her desperation for vengeance, and her conflict over the path she has chosen. The film's most powerful scene is arguably the moment where Maleficent realizes her wings have been taken from her. Jolie lets out a heartbreaking sob, and proceeds to weep over what she has lost. It's a scene of depth and sadness that is rarely found in a Disney film. But of course, the moment that is simply the most fun to watch is the scene in which Maleficent suddenly arrives at Aurora's christening. As she delivers her curse upon the child, it's impossible not to be at least slightly terrified by Jolie, who delivers each line in a voice full of rage. But, Maleficent's path does not end with her curse upon the infant destined to be Sleeping Beauty. In fact she grows to care for the girl she once condemned. She begins to doubt the road she has chosen. Which brings me to Maleficent's final redeeming quality.

 Arguably the best aspect of Maleficent is the simple story it tells. Instead of presenting us with the generic Disney tale in which an impossibly attractive, courageous prince saves an absurdly beautiful princess, it gives us something else entirely. It gives us the story of the character we've been taught to hate. It looks at the villain, rather than the hero, and asks us to consider if she was really all that evil. Maleficent is a glimpse into the human heart. Happy, until it is wronged. And when wronged our natural reaction is one of hatred, anger, and a desire for revenge. And those feelings lead us to take actions that we often deeply regret. But both with Maleficent, and every single one of us, our story does not have to end there. Maleficent shows us that "visions are seldom all they seem," and we should perhaps not be so swift to judge our fellow man, horned or not. But more importantly, Maleficent tells us what we all need to hear. That no matter what we've done, no matter how wicked are deeds, there is hope for every single one of us. And that is why the film is so powerful. It's not Prince Charming's story. It's not the sleeping beauty's story. It's the villain's story. It's the story of one who walks in goodness, falls into darkness, and eventually, returns to the light. It's our story. When told that true love can save Aurora, Maleficent bitterly replies "there is no such thing." But the film, and ironically, Maleficent's own actions prove her wrong. True love does exist, and it has the power to mend the blackest heart. Love heals Aurora. Love heals Maleficent. Love can heal every single one of us.
  "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)