"Sleeping Curse" reshapes the image of the evil queen and is a cautionary tale of modern society. It essentially sidesteps the question: Are you sure she's the bad guy who needs to surrender?
Stills from Sleeping Curse
Angelina Jolie plays the legendary Malefithson, in which the Queen has an alternative sense of charm, very different from the fairy tale themes that many generations have come into contact with through the Disney animation Sleeping Beauty. On the question of who is wrong, the new film's stance is clear and uncompromising.
Unlike Sleeping Beauty, The Sleeping Curse explains all the motives and regrets from the Queen's point of view. Maleficent has both wisdom and compassion and, of course, indignation. Since 2005's Romeo and Juliet, Angelina doesn't seem to have played a role so happily.
The framework of the characters and story in Sleeping Curse will feel familiar, as it is based on an animated film and folktale by the 17th-century French writer Charles Perot, which changed the main story in the hands of screenwriter Linda Wolfton and was directed by the grand director Robert Stormberg. Like most fairy tales, there are metaphors of good and evil to both adults and children. In this regard, Sleeping Curse is Disney's most adventurous allegory of women's empowerment, exploring how the age-old power struggle between men and women shapes the identities of both sides. Although the film never acts like a debate, it has so much to say that the emotional power that may have made it a classic is weakened, and it's another power struggle going on in the film.
Despite its flaws, Sleeping Curse is visually stunning, from the tone of the scene to the ethereal forest creatures. These forest creatures have a grotesque appearance and power, and Stormberg's virtuosity has earned him an Oscar for art direction for his work in Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, and audiences can feel the imprint of this art in every frame of the film.
The film creates a world that sits on the edge of fantasy and reality. Maleficent's hatred for the outside world stems from King Stefan (Chartor Copley), who hurt her for the throne. Princess Ello is cursed for her father's crimes, and as an infant she is played by Julie's child daughter Vivian, while Ellie Fanning plays 16-year-old Princess Arlo, whose fingers are spindle and plunged into a death-like slumber while waiting for the kiss of true love.
Maleficent was also a fairy, but at that time she looked like an ordinary girl, no one could rule the forest kingdom, and her life was full of magical creatures whose pranks were a form of entertainment. The twist begins with King Henry (Kenneth Clanham), a power-hungry, land-usurper who tries to conquer Maleficent, and when all this doesn't work, he lures Stefan into one of the most chilling scenes in the film—cutting off Maleficent's wings.
Since then, Malefithen has gone from being a simple girl to an evil queen, both for revenge and survival, and the price paid for all this is indescribable. Much of the film revolves around the relationship between Maleficent and Arlo, with the fairies played by Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Leslie Manville singing and arguing, using their magic to create ridiculous things, and they are given the responsibility of raising little girls, while also adding a lot of fun to the film.
It's no exaggeration to say that this is a Movie by Angelina Jolie, who plays her own Malefithssen. When she appears on the screen, you can only see her. In addition to the cheekbones and horns that are strikingly similar to the animated prototype, the queen she portrays may not be easy to like, but it is difficult to dislike, the black-and-white stereotype is replaced by more subtle emotions, and the typical cynicism of the Disney queen is also softened.
Maleficent compared to the animation prototype