The new live action movie of Maleficent is reworking of the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty with the villain taking the main role and the ever happy Princess Aurora taking a backseat. It slowly delves into the background story of why Maleficent came about to be the way she is-an evil witch who cast a spell on baby Aurora. Without getting into the details of every dialogue here we are going to look into some elements, character relations and compare the review of two critics.
The elements/relationships that are going to be written about here are
- Setting of the movie
The movies boundaries are between two worlds, the Kingdom and the Moors. Where the moors are shown as the enchanted land of fairies, goblins and other heavenly creatures the Kingdom is shown to be populated by humans who are filled with greed and hatred; castles and farmers. The difference being that the land of Maleficent is the one with colorful blooms, evergreen forests where after her betrayal it turns dark and thorny outlined by a boundary of unbreakable thorns. The CGI effects to show the beauty of the moors as Maleficent flies through the caves, cliffs and soars in the clouds is exemplary. So are the monsters of the land that she controls that rise from the ground to protect their home from an invasion on the orders of Maleficent. The scenes of battle in the first half where the army of the king is vanquished by the green mossy monsters can also been seen as a metaphor for nature rebelling against you for its excessive usage and final human loss. Even the final fight where Maleficent gets her wings back with the dragon spewing fire is taken from the classic tale and reworked. In the original maleficent she becomes the dragon whereas here it is her faithful servant diaviel. The iron being the antithesis to a fairies’ strength can be taken as en element that rusts on spillage of water, whereas the fairies and mystical creatures regard water as the final frontier to return to on demise. As in reality iron and water are not friends and neither are iron and fairies.
- The costume design
The costumes and makeup add on beautifully to the characters. When Maleficent is a fairy she is shown soaring in soft flowy fabrics through the clouds filled with bright sunshine, where her dark and brooding version has black clothes, even the horns go darker reminiscent of the hurt and anger in her at being betrayed. On the other side Aurora is dressed in pastel shades of blues, creams and whites depicting her innocence of life and laughter. The King and his love of power are shown through his heavy fur lined coats, the crown resting uneasy on the head of the traitor.
- Capacity of Human Emotions
The portrayal of hunger for power-Stephan, revenge-cursing of Aurora, Sadness-The Moors turning black and thorny, Aurora’s love-her innocence at everything is all shown in the movie at separate events. The brutal action that Stephan takes to become the King’s successor demonstrates a human’s greed for power of the highest level. The colors that portray various emotions are seen through the movie with blooming flower, greenery, and black thorned boundary between the moors and the Kingdom. Various interrelations are also woven throughout the story
Maleficent-Aurora-A beautiful Godmother child bond is formed where Maleficent guides her through it all and even gives advice on the evil of the world. She also lovingly calls her Beastie a nickname that she wanted to use for her hatred instead it becomes a loved name by the end.
Maleficent-Stephan-An innocent love gone horribly wrong leading to revenge as a result of the greed of Stephan. She despises him for humiliating and taking advantage of her. The clipping of wings can also be taken as a metaphor for physical abuse of the women at the hands of a man through the use of intoxicants.
Maleficent-Diaviel- Her faithful man-crow servant who tries to as his mistress abides in every way and becomes her wings into the castle and eyes and ears of Aurora’s life.
- Strength of Maleficent the protagonist-Love
As a fairy she is shown to have immense believe in love till she is betrayed by her love, Stephan who clips out her wings, literally and in the pain and anguish of her betrayal decides to avenge herself by casting a spell on aurora which can be broken only by the kiss of true love. Overtime what she doesn’t realize is that somewhere her love for all things of nature is still intact wherein she becomes the Fairy God mother to the growing Aurora. It is the same love that makes her become the maternal figure to the princess, wanting to make her smile, enjoy the moors and lastly apologize to the sleeping aurora that she would make sure no harm comes to her in any way ever.
Through her journey as a fairy it is shown that she always yearned to give and receive the basic human emotion of love, making her vulnerable to the deceit of King Stephan and to charm of baby Aurora.
Another feature of Maleficent that occupies a part of the central story is her wings. She seems to have that deep bond with her wings which when cut off breaks her heart and belies her significant strength, takes away her passion for flying and soaring. The first thing she attempts after taking a darker turn is to get her set of artificial wings in the form a crow-human Diaviel. In the end when her final confrontation comes her wings seem to be beckoning their owner and finally are united leading her to win over King Stephan. The wings can also be taken for a metaphor for artistic freedom that every individual needs for basic survival.
If we go on to compare the reviews of the movie by the Newyork times and Entertainment Weekly these would be the similarities and differences
Comparison of both the reviews
NY Times Review (By MANOHLA DARGIS)
The reviewer here feels the tale is a reworking of the old classic. The narrative is weak and plot loopholes are covered by the imagery and Angelina’s formidable screen presence. The digital imagery coveys the relationship between Aurora and Maleficent beautifully with her floating beside Maleficent, the long shots though deviate the audience from the story. Angelina Jolie is a visual marvel whether spouting curses or word of wisdom, care was taken to make the central Disney character a lot more human. Emotions of patriarchy and matriarchy between characters of Aurora, Maleficent and Diaviel are discussed. Many metaphors for emotions, women, imagery and love and hatred are portrayed silently through the visual medium
EW Review (by Keith Staskiewicz)
Even this review felt that the story was a rethinking of old classic. The story is muddled according to this reviewer and doesn’t vary too far from just the two worlds of Moors and Castle. Digital design worked for a classic look with analog colors, mesmerizing cliffs and odd flora and mossy monsters add to the defect. The reviewer here is in awe of the deviled horns that mark a captivating presence and add to the fabled Disney look. The matriarchal factor was not discussed.
Reviews
