Who could say no to the statuesque Angelina Jolie, the gorgeous A-list actress turned director/producer, earth mother to natural and adopted children, Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nationals High Commissioner for Refugees, and wife of Brad Pitt? Certainly not Disney, which has allowed her to turn Sleeping Beauty’s wicked witch into an adoptive mother to yet another, albeit, on screen, child. In Robert Stromberg’s entertaining and extravagantly produced 3D animated and live action feature, Maleficent, we follow the character arc of a wronged, innocent woman.
There have been many versions of the Sleeping Beauty story since the first, in the 16th century. The villain who casts the sleeping spell on the girl was transformed from her jealous mother to a wicked fairy by Charles Perrault. His 1697 story also added the handsome prince whose kiss could break the spell.
Robert Stromberg, the two-time Academy Award winning production designer of Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, puts his CGI and design skills to the forefront in his directorial debut. He uses different styles of animation and effects to distinguish between the castle where the greedy, ambitious, yet miserable King Stefan (Sharlto Copley, Elysium, District 9) rules; Maleficent’s enchanted moors; and the woods where Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning) grows up under the not-so-watchful care of three pixies (Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville)
Stromberg is aided by a progressive, feminist script from Linda Woolverton (The Lion King) that is, if anything, more geared towards older viewers than the very young. Maleficent’s first encounter with a human, young Stefan, shows her to be a generous, trusting, nature-loving innocent like Aurora (Elle Fanning) Stefan’s future daughter. When Stefan returns to the moors as an adult, he rekindles their youthful love, but with ulterior motives. Age and ambition has changed him. When Maleficent discovers he has betrayed her for the throne, she is transformed into a vengeful and bitter fairy until love sets her, and the object of her love, free.
The squabbling pixies add welcome humour to this dark, solemn tale, as does the irony that these negligent ninnies, to whom Stephan and his wife entrust the care of Aurora, haven’t a clue about bringing up children. In a reply to Peter Pan’s Tinker Bell, British actor Sam Riley (Control, On the Road) hovers over Maleficent’s shoulder as her ‘right-hand’ bird, Diaval. Diaval owes Maleficent his life, and becomes her trusted servant – usually in the form of a man or a bird – who mainly keeps watch over Aurora as she grows up.
The costumes and Jolie’s overly heavy make-up by Tony G and Arjen Tuiten, make her more human than creature-like, but still identifiable as a fairy or witch. Her cheek bones are marvellously accentuated and look like she has metal plates in her face. Her skin is flawless under a horned head-piece and the huge wings are used as both a weapon and transportation.
Entertaining and satisfying as the film is, Stefan’s transformation into an unhinged villain is rather extreme. After all it is he who betrayed Maleficent, and we do not see the guilt that might prompt such a reaction. Moreover, he or his soldiers do not stop the attack when he sees Aurora has been liberated from her deep sleep and is walking with Maleficent.
A curious kink in the plot is why Aurora was deemed safer in the woods with pixies than in the palace once all the potentially dangerous spinning wheels (of Maleficent’s spell) had been destroyed. And since the spell was not due to take affect until Aurora’s 16th birthday, why send her away as a baby?
The dark side of the film might make it inappropriate for the very young. Aurora is effectively, seduced and abandoned, not to mention nearly stabbed to death by her lover. Many of the special effects, such as the human trees that guard the moors from the King’s soldiers or Diaval as a ferocious wolf and then a dragon enchained by the soldiers, might frighten the very young. They might also wonder why the handsome young prince fails to awaken the princess this time around. Here, their parents can remind them of the advantages of unconditional parental love.
Joyce Glasser – MT film reviewer
