Ever After: A Cinderella Story is a 1998 film adaptation of the fairy tale Cinderella, directed by Andy Tennant and starring Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston. The screenplay is written by Tennant, Susannah Grant, and Rick Parks. The original music score is composed by George Fenton. The film's tagline is "Desire. Defy. Escape."
The usual pantomime and comic elements are removed and the story is instead treated as historical fiction. It is often seen as a modern, post-feminism interpretation of the Cinderella myth.[2]
Plot
The movie begins with the Grimm Brothers visiting an elderly woman, the Grande Dame of France (Jeanne Moreau), who questions their version of the Cinderella story. The Brothers Grimm reply that there was no way for them to verify the authenticity of their story as there were so many different versions. After one of the brothers expressed curiosity about a portrait showing a young woman, the Grande Dame replies that the woman was Danielle De Barbarac and shows to the astonished Grimm Brothers her glass slippers. She then proceeds to tell the story of Danielle De Barbarac (Drew Barrymore).
The young Danielle De Barbarac was raised by her father in a small manor in rural Renaissance France after her mother's untimely death. Her father remarries to a baroness with two young daughters close to Danielle's age. Shortly after bringing them to his estate, he dies of a heart attack, leaving Danielle with a stepmother and stepsisters she barely knows. The Baroness Rodmilla De Ghent (Anjelica Huston) resents Danielle, as she is jealous of the love Danielle's father felt for her. By the time Danielle is eighteen, the estate has fallen into decline, Rodmilla's elder daughter Marguerite (Megan Dodds) has grown to be as cruel and arrogant as her mother, and the younger daughter Jacqueline (Melanie Lynskey) is shown to be sweet-tempered and down-to-earth, but with low self esteem due to her mother's ridicule and favoring of Marguerite.
Danielle has a series of chance meetings with Henry, the Prince of France (Dougray Scott), who eventually becomes intrigued with Danielle's wit and intelligence. He is unaware of her true identity or situation because she has assumed her late mother's name and the guise of a comtesse while appealing for the freedom of a beloved servant.
Throughout the first two acts, Rodmilla schemes with Marguerite to create opportunities for an advantageous position at court. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Prince Henry is causing frustration in his family because he refuses to submit to an arranged marriage with Princess Gabriella of Spain. King Francis, Henry's father, delivers an ultimatum that he will announce Henry's engagement at a masquerade ball, either to a girl of Henry's choice or to the Spanish princess, in five days' time. Invitations to the ball are sent out to all "eligible' ladies" of the kingdom, including Danielle, her stepmother, and stepsisters.
Danielle is locked in the manor's larder on the evening of the ball, and the household servants rally together to find help to free Danielle and dress her for the ball in her late mother's gown and slippers. She looks like royalty when she finally arrives at the ball, but the baroness humiliates her in Henry's presence by exposing her as a fraud. As he realizes he has been deceived, he publicly rejects Danielle and she runs from the scene, leaving one slipper behind. It is discovered by Leonardo da Vinci, who reprimands Henry for abandoning Danielle when she had risked everything to come and tell him who she really was.
Danielle is brought to her lowest point when she is essentially sold to a repulsive landowner, Pierre Le Pieu (Richard O'Brien) (who has continually been infatuated with Danielle), in exchange for the return of household goods that Rodmilla had been gradually pilfering and pawning. Henry, meanwhile, is bound to be married to the Spanish princess, but publicly frees her from that obligation and sets off in search of Danielle. Henry comes upon Danielle as she is escaping from her situation; he asks for her forgiveness and her hand in marriage, presenting to her the slipper she left behind on the night of the ball. The two are presumably married in a secret ceremony.
Later, the baroness and her daughters are summoned to visit the royal court. Expecting that Henry will propose to the elder daughter, they hurry there. They must face the queen, who confronts them about their earlier schemes and strips them of their titles. While considering their punishment, the queen asks if anyone will speak on their behalf. Princess Danielle speaks up and says they should be given the same respect they had given her: Jacqueline, who was sympathetic to Danielle, receives mercy and a position at the palace, while her mother and sister are sentenced to labor as commoners in the royal laundry.
Danielle and Henry are presumed to live happily ever after while da Vinci unveils a portrait he painted of her. At the final shot, the Grimm Brothers leave the aged woman's castle, and it is revealed that the woman is Danielle and Henry's great great granddaughter.
Cast
- Danielle De Barbarac, portrayed by Drew Barrymore
- Prince Henry, portrayed by Dougray Scott
- Baroness Rodmilla De Ghent, portrayed by Anjelica Huston
- Grand Dame, portrayed by Jeanne Moreau
- Marguerite De Ghent, portrayed by Megan Dodds
- Jacqueline De Ghent, portrayed by Melanie Lynskey
- Leonardo Da Vinci, portrayed by Patrick Godfrey
- Maurice, portrayed by Walter Sparrow
- Louise, portrayed by Matyelok Gibbs
- Paulette, portrayed by Kate Lansbury
- Gustave, portrayed by Lee Ingleby
- King Francis and Queen Marie of France, portrayed by Timothy West and Judy Parfitt respectively
- Pierre Le Pieu, portrayed by Richard O'Brien
- Auguste de Barbarac, portrayed by Jeroen Krabbé
Production
Ever After was filmed in Super 35 mm film format, but both the widescreen and pan-and-scan versions are included on the same DVD. This is also the only Super 35 mm film ever directed by Andy Tennant. The Tennant-directed films before this were filmed with spherical lenses. The ones after it were filmed with anamorphic lenses.
The castle shown in the film is the Château de Hautefort. Filming also occurred in Dordogne, France at the Château de Fénélon and the Château de Losse.
The painting of Danielle seen in the film is based on da Vinci's Head of a Young Woman with Tousled Hair.
Critical reception
The film received mainly positive reviews from critics. It currently holds a 92% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes although it holds only favorable reviews of a 66% on Metacritic. Both Newsweek and Rolling Stone magazine praised the movie's intelligence and wit, although some critics also noted its "confusing switch between humor and seriousness."
DVD release
The film was released on DVD with minimal extras. It is currently unknown if there will be another DVD release with more substantial content.
Musical Adaptation
A musical version of the film is currently in the works, with the book and lyrics by Marcy Heisler and music by Zina Goldrich. The musical was scheduled to have its world premiere in April 2009 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, but the pre-Broadway run has been postponed.[3]
Trailer
The theatrical trailer was noted for its use of contemporary dance music with images of a classic Fairy tale. This signaled to the public that this would be a modern interpretation of a traditional story. The two pieces of music used in the trailer are The Mummers' Dance by Loreena McKennitt and Fable by Robert Miles.
See also
- Ever After, the novel by Wendy Loggia, based on the screenplay by Susannah Grant, Andy Tennant and Rick Parks
- Ever After, the novel in the Williamsburg series by Elswyth Thane
References
- ^ Ever After: A Cinderella Story at boxofficemojo.com
- ^ Haase (ed.), Donald (2004). Fairy Tales and Feminism: New Approaches. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3030-4.
- ^ Hetrick, Adam (2009-28-01). "South Pacific Revival to Play San Francisco; Pre-Broadway Ever After Run Postponed". Playbill.com. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/125696.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-28.
External links
