Cruella (2021/ Comedy/ Disney Hotstar)
The film tells us the origin story of the famous Disney character Cruella De Vil.
Director – Craig Gillespie
Cast – Emma Stone, Emma Thomson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham
I am no Disney fan and thereby when I read that Cruella is the origin story of a famous negative character, I was hardly interested.
But… then the trailer happened to me and that ”Devil Wears Prada” feel roped me in.
And I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this film about two kick ass women high on fashion, style and spunk!
The film starts with Cruella’s childhood and for a short time, you feel sorry for the orphaned little girl. But soon she finds her buddies and life’s calling and things start getting exciting. She grows up to be a young woman (Emma Stone) who has an eye, a mind and a hand for world of fashion.
The Devil Wears Prada fan me finally had my eyes twinkling when The Baronness (Emma Thomson) enters the scene.
And that’s when the fun begins. Her style and spunk,brought to life by a great Emma Thomson, lights up the frames. When Cruella and The Baronness lock horns, the bouts are a delight and to see them spar is a pleasure. What comes as a bonus is the dazzling visual extravaganza. Those designer costumes oozing oomph and chutzpah!
While Devil wears Prada focuses on the two women, their personalities and their life, Cruella uses the opportunity to flaunt the glamour, glitz and games of the designers’ world in a different way. While I feel no one can beat Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Miranda Priestly but Emma Thomson was awesome here.
Just like all under dog stories, it is great fun seeing the under privileged winning and the baddie loosing the rounds. And the style quotient of the film is a visual pleasure. Performances and cast add to it and there by you have a thoroughly entertaining and delightful watch!