Film Review: CRUELLA (2021): Emma Stone Hits a Home Run in Craig Gillespie’s Stylistic Film

Cruella Review

Cruella (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Craig Gillespie, and starring Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, John McCrea, Emily Beecham, Mark Strong, Kayvan Novak, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Jamie Demetriou, Niamh Lynch, Andrew Leung, Ed Birch, Dylan Lowe, Paul Bazely, and Tipper Seifert-Cleveland.

Craig Gillespie’s new film, Cruella, has all the markings of a film-making genius. Gillespie proved he was a filmmaker to be reckoned with when he made the fascinating 2017 figure skater Tonya Harding biopic,  I, Tonya. Many people claimed it was Goodfellas on the ice, and Cruella is like Goodfellas re-imagined in the world of female fashion. With a soundtrack chock full of hits from the 1960’s and 1970’s, and out-of-this-world costumes by Jenny Beavan, the two-hour plus Cruella promises to keep audiences engaged for its entire running time.

Cruella is essentially the origin story of Cruella De Vil, the evil female villain from the beloved 1961 hit Disney cartoon 101 Dalmatians. She is played at different ages by fantastic performers. Her name is Estella when we first meet her. She has half black and half white shaggy hair. Tipper Seifert-Cleveland appears briefly as Estella when she is a young girl and her mother (Emily Beecham) is inexplicably killed. Seifert-Cleveland’s brief turn immediately makes the audience like Estella and therefore we stick with her character as she grows up.

I’ve, so far, purposefully left out the best part of Cruella. And, now, it’s time to give a certain performer the accolades she deserves. Oscar-winner for La La Land  Emma Stone is absolute dynamite as the older Estella. Stone runs away with the part and creates a performance that deserves to be taken very seriously in one of the most wickedly fun, genius characterizations in modern cinema.

Screen veteran actress Emma Thompson plays the real villain of the film: Fashion Designer Baroness von Hellman. She’s the one you want to hate here. Thompson is terrifically fine in her role matching Stone note for note as the two actresses face off as their respective characters with electrifying results.

Estella’s friends are Jasper (Joel Fry, who was so great in 2019’s Yesterday) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser). They meet as kids and are bound by friendship. When Estella becomes Cruella DeVille, she never forgets her two buddies, even busting them out of jail in one of the film’s best scenes.

Estella starts out working for Baroness von Hellman in a very small capacity as she cleans and does menial jobs at the big department store which von Hellman’s fashions are associated with. Only when Estella’s talents are discovered by a company head honcho through her window display does von Hellman start taking her seriously.

Estella creates an alter-ego (you guessed it-Cruella De Vil) to take on Thompson’s evil von Hellman head on. Estella/Cruella is destined to get the success she so rightfully deserves and will do anything to stop von Hellman in her tracks. Cruella shows up at given moments in terrific outfits and designs clothes with tremendous style. She has a terrific flair and eye for detail which makes von Hellman jealous.

Stone skillfully transforms from saddened blue collar girl to fashion diva seamlessly. Stone’s acting is marvelous here as she hits the right notes for her role every time. We follow her every step of the way. Is she off her rocker? Of course she is! That’s what makes the performance so fun to watch.

Through the soundtrack, Gillespie keeps the audience tapping their toes all the way through and you’ll be loving every minute of it. Whether Cruella has to kidnap von Hellman’s dalmatian dogs to get a necklace from their poop (one of the dalmatians accidentally swallows it) or learn a devastating secret, Stone triumphs in this performance. I think it’s her finest work to date.

Much has been said about the “secret” which is the big plot development the movie reveals late in the picture. That revelation, for me, was a bit of a letdown. I didn’t like the information that was revealed but by the time the movie unveiled it, I was following Stone’s character anywhere. I’ll follow Stone in any movie but this time, she’s just so captivating, you’ll be spellbound. It’s amazing work.

See Cruella for any number of reasons. But, first and foremost, see it for Emma Stone who captures the beloved baddie to a tee. You won’t find a characterization as wickedly wonderful all summer long.

Rating: 9/10

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