First Hook and the Evil Queen turn good in Disney’s TV Show “Once Upon a Time”, and now Maleficent might have a heart? What’s next? Cruella Deville doing spots for the humane society?
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“Maleficent” is the untold story of the villain behind the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty. Angelina Jolie plays the iconic role in a tale that turns the famous story on it’s head. This time instead of seeing it from the perspective of the castle and it’s inhabitants, we see the motives and personal repercussions of the one who brought the curse in the first place, the stone hearted queen of the Moors, Angelina Jolie… I mean Maleficent.
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Seriously though Jolie is so perfect for this role it’s hard to tell where the evil fairy ends and she begins. Let me put it this way, if they ever do a biopic of Angelina Jolie’s life story, they should find the real Maleficent to return the favor and play the title role. Jolie is Maleficent in this, and that performance is the best thing. The subtle way she emotes both sides of the villain hero coin here is spectacular. Playing it with a mystery and growth that was captivating and gave the story a real depth I didn’t know it had. Of course, much of that is that she’s given some really interesting story material to work with here too, powerfully capturing emotions like bitterness, regret, and love in some really powerful ways. It’s a beautiful reminder of the old phrase, “Hurt people hurt people.” And this story reveals how deep that hurt goes for this classic villainess. I also want to give a shout out to Elle Fanning playing Princess Aurora, otherwise known as Sleepy Beauty herself. I’m not sure what sort of acting potion they give their kids at the Fanning home, but she’s stunning here in her wide eyed innocence and joy of discovery, becoming the perfect catalyst for Maleficent’s struggle. I should also mention that the effects in this were for the most part amazing bringing settings and creatures to life in really spectacular ways…. with one notable exception…
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The three good fairies. Whatever sort of computer voodoo they tried to do with combining the real actresses faces on these fairy creatures was incredibly off putting and distracting. They were like some sort of real life bobble heads, where instead of being engaged in how they informed the story I was more wondering how their little necks didn’t snap trying to hold up the weight of those gigantic noggins. They were easily the worst thing for me. Not just because of the awful CGI but because they were completely unlikable in whatever form they took. Bumbling, unfunny, mean, and downright negligent I honestly just wanted them to go away. In fact, if it were up to me I would have sent a rider to inform whatever the medieval version of “Child Protective Services” was to save this poor girl. And really there wasn’t much nuance to them or for that matter anyone outside our core trio of Maleficent, Aurora, and the King. It was as if the rest of the story was just cardboard cutouts and space filler giving the movie an unfortunate feeling of predictability and dullness when we aren’t with our leads. Fortunately for us, those moments are few and far between.
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At the end of the day, Maleficent is an intriguing take on an old tale. The beautiful story turns and powerful emotions play perfectly into an incredible performance by Angelina Jolie. Even with some lame periphery characters and a bit of predictability, it still manages a B+
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