It seems that filmmakers are now attracting the antagonist to become the main spotlight. Cruella also enlivened this trend after Joker and Harley Quinn. Cruella is adapted from the figure of Cruella de Vil in the classic 101 Dalmations story, which Disney previously produced in 1996. Armed with a budget of USD 100 million, Cruella is directed by Craig Gillespie, who also directed a unique biographical film, I Tonya. Cruella stars several famous stars, including Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Mark Strong, Joel Fry, and Paul Walter Hauser. Is Cruella able to strengthen the trend of antagonist-themed films?
The heart of the story is how Estella turns into the violent Cruella we know in the 101 Dalmations story. The story is a very long process from when Estella was a child until she became an adult woman. One major problem with the plot is the fast-paced tempo of the story. Moment by moment goes swiftly and tends to be tiring because the story information comes insistently without pause. Especially with a fantastic setting and in such detail, it can spoil the eye like Tim Burton’s films; everything passes by. The surprise at the end of the story is no longer a surprise for true film lovers.
Apart from its tiring story, the aesthetic approach of the film is one aspect that must be highly appreciated. Both the exterior and interior settings are presented very convincingly and in great detail. The costumes, which are the main point of the film’s story, are also dominant. Somewhat surprisingly, why wasn’t Burton working on this film? Montage technique is also prevalent throughout the film, presented in a unique way combined with newspaper headlines. One more thing is the use of the song almost without pause that fits each scene throughout the film. Then the two main castings, Emma Stone and Emma Thomson, need not be commented on anymore because they both appeared very strong and stunning. One more thing, as a movie lover, I enjoy classic tribute inserts in some of the scenes, such as Full Metal Jacket and Terminator.
With a fantastic mise_en_scene, Cruella is an aesthetic achievement on all fronts that is amazing beyond the fast-paced tempo of the story. It’s still hard to guess whether the antagonistic theme trend will be a hit. The pandemic has certainly ruined many of the filmmakers’ plans for the future. Joker was a commercial success before the pandemic, while Harley Quinn was already in the aftermath of the pandemic. For the budget, Cruella also feels it difficult to be able to succeed commercially in the theatre. Could this trend be considered a breakthrough in the industry, or could you be short on ideas?
