In a sentenceEmma Thompson has dressed for a fashion film and prepared for a disciplinary hearing
The story follows Estella (Emma Stone), Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) through 1970s London, where Estella wants to make her name in fashion. The Baroness (Emma Thompson) is the designer whose authority she must contend with. Estella has another name, Cruella, and an appetite for attention that leaves little room for accepting somebody else’s rules. Clothes offer her a way into the fashion world and a means of challenging its established authority, as her ambitions bring her up against a woman who does not welcome competition.
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Emma Stone and Emma Thompson make this fashion feud worth watching for the interested. The clothes are inventive, but a crowded origin story keeps explaining away the nastiness that might have made it more fun.
Cruella is an enjoyable fashion feud held up by an origin story that takes far too long to explain itself. Craig Gillespie has two actors capable of making professional spite funny, and the film is at its most entertaining when it leaves them to compete. Emma Stone gives Estella / Cruella the appetite of someone determined to be noticed; Emma Thompson makes The Baroness look offended that anyone else should want the attention. At 134 minutes, their contest acquires more history than it needs.
Emma Stone is good at making self-invention look like something the character enjoys doing. There is enough relish in her performance to keep Cruella interesting even when the screenplay starts doing the explaining for her. Emma Thompson has the easier task, since The Baroness is allowed to be unpleasant without continually requesting our understanding. Her contempt is funny because she treats it as ordinary good judgement.
We laughed at how seriously these women take the business of outdoing each other in clothes. The gowns make the absurdity convincing: after all that labour, we might resent being upstaged too. Costume designers Jenny Beavan and Samuel Coviello give the rivalry something worth looking at, and the clothes communicate ambition more briskly than the dialogue. Even when our interest in the story faltered, we wanted to see what Cruella would wear next.
Nicolas Karakatsanis’s cinematography gives that work the prominence it deserves, without making the actors seem incidental to the display. Fiona Crombie’s production design supplies elaborate surroundings that make the fashion world’s self-importance credible. The recreated 1970s London is enjoyable to look at, though it scarcely feels troubled by anything beyond the competition for attention. For all the film’s interest in punk styling, it is comfortable with the glamour it supposedly wants to disturb.
The screenplay by Tony McNamara and Dana Fox is less assured about what we should make of Cruella herself. Its determination to explain her risks making every unpleasant impulse sound like something for which an excuse can be found. We do not need a villain to be beyond sympathy, but we do need the film to allow her some responsibility for being objectionable. Too often, the backstory takes over just as Emma Stone has made the character entertaining without it.
Tatiana S. Riegel’s editing gives the fashion passages energy, yet the accumulation of plot keeps slowing the film down. The pace suffers whenever the rivalry has to wait for another piece of history. Nicholas Britell’s score is less distracting than the surrounding soundtrack, whose insistence on keeping things lively eventually becomes tiring. After a while, we wanted fewer musical cues and fewer detours.
As an origin story, this belongs to the school that would rather account for a villain than let us enjoy being appalled by her. That is a frustrating choice for a film with such willing performers and such good clothes. There is still enough pleasure here for anyone interested in fashion, extravagant egos and the comedy of professional resentment. Go for the two women trying to steal each other’s attention, and expect the story to interrupt them.
The reviews lean towards qualified enjoyment, with mixed responses outnumbering outright endorsements. Praise centres on Jenny Beavan’s inventive costumes and the performances of Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, particularly their confrontations. Even several sceptical critics find pleasure in the fashion and the leads’ rapport. Admirers see a lively, stylish crime romp, with Thompson’s Baroness drawing particular approval and Stone making the origin story more entertaining than expected.
The spread is wide, but the complaints recur: excessive length, convoluted plotting and an attempt to make Cruella sympathetic that risks draining her menace. Several otherwise enthusiastic reviews concede that the story carries on too long. The soundtrack and punk styling divide opinion rather than winning consistent praise. Variety welcomes the reinvention as creative and empowering; Vulture finds its politics shallow and its costumes insufficient to give the film substance. The central disagreement is how much the clothes and performances compensate for the writing.
Travis praises the film as a stylish, energetic crime-and-couture romp that makes Cruella’s wickedness entertaining. He especially singles out Emma Thompson’s commanding performance as the fearsome Baroness.
Read the full review →Steele finds the film an extremely zippy, fun dark comedy, though it runs too long and sags after its natural endpoint. She especially praises the fizzing dynamic between Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, alongside the costumes and soundtrack.
Read the full review →Debruge praises the film as an ingeniously creative, slyly empowering origin story that stands on its own. He particularly singles out its stylish reimagining and Emma Stone’s spirited performance.
Read the full review →O’Sullivan finds Cruella a delicious, fabulous romp despite its convoluted and ridiculous plot. She particularly praises Jenny Beavan’s inventive costumes, which help tell the story and make its fashion world come alive.
Read the full review →Bradshaw finds the prequel riotously entertaining and full of old-fashioned fun. He praises the lavish recreation of 1970s London and the standout performances by Emma Stone and Emma Thompson.
Read the full review →Stables finds the prequel a deliciously rowdy, stylish success, though overlong and overstuffed with twists. She especially praises Emma Thompson’s scene-stealing Baroness and the film’s spectacular costumes.
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The Devil Wears PradaAnother fashion workplace where talent matters, but surviving the boss matters more.
All About EveAmbition and wounded vanity, with dialogue sharp enough to justify the rivalry.
The Dressmaker · not reviewed yetClothes become weapons in a small town with plenty to answer for.
Kamikaze Girls · not reviewed yetElaborate clothes and unruly friendship, with more affection beneath the posing.
The Young Girls of RochefortFor the colour and costumes, with dancing instead of professional sabotage.
