In 1959, Walt Disney Studios released “Sleeping Beauty”
after the enormous success of other princess films like “Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs” and “Cinderella,” but the reason “Sleeping Beauty” acquired
legendary status was not due to the fragile heroine, but rather the wickedly
sinister villain, Maleficent. Now in 2014, Disney has released a live-action
narrative focusing chiefly on the antagonist fairy with Angelina Jolie
appropriately cast the lead role. “Maleficent” is eloquently empathetic,
emotionally alluring, and visually astonishing.
At baby Princess Aurora’s christening, the uninvited
Maleficent stumbles upon the event and chooses to punish Aurora’s father, King
Stephen, whom she had personal affiliations with in the past, by cursing the
princess to fall into a “sleep-like death.” The curse will transpire when the
princess reaches 16 years of age and will be set into motion by the princess
pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. To describe any more of
the plot would be to ruin the fun found in the cleverly imagined story that
fills in blanks before and after the infamous christening sequence in 1959’s
“Sleeping Beauty.”
“Maleficent” is a film infused with profound humanity, letting
existential truths bleed through the main characters at all times. The
progression of the character Maleficent is properly expressed as an innocent
woman coping with the unspeakable sins committed against her. These
transgressions push her to perform the iniquitous and self-damaging acts
Maleficent is infamously known for. The audience commiserates the “villain” and
her actions, even cursing an infant, are understandable and believable. As with
the mightily successful “Frozen,” Walt Disney Studios continues to introduce
the complexities of human beings and complicated adult emotions to children at
younger ages, thus explaining the grey space that exist between “good” and
“evil.”
Angelina Jolie’s staggering portrayal as Maleficent is the
paragon of effective campy acting, a performance comprised of confidence,
pathos, and even humor. Strangely, Jolie has never appeared more beautiful
on-screen than she does in the role of iconic Disney goblin-looking creature.
However, this can be more convincing after understanding the magical look of
the film. The exquisite set pieces, richly designed costumes, and evocative
photography ominously decorate “Maleficent.” Some images capture the essence of
the villainous “Sleeping Beauty” icon so accurately that it is an arresting
experience.
The trailers may lead parents to apprehensively avoid
“Maleficent,” but for however dark it looks, the film is aware of its target
audience (children and families). Narrated by Janet McTeer, the film resembles
a storybook fairytale. At times “Maleficent” releases futile, goofy humor
scripted for no other reason than to make the kids laugh, which is an
inescapable flaw of the family genre. Some older fans of Maleficent have been
disillusioned with the movie’s representation of her, expecting the dark fairy
to permanently revel in evil ways. As stated before, Maleficent is not shown
one-dimensionally as a ruthless, sadistic villain, but rather a real person
struggling to cope with pain.
“Maleficent” is sure to be another Disney gem that will
invoke audience interest like it has with other live-action Disney tales,
“Alice in Wonderland” (2010) and “Oz: The Great and Powerful” (2013).
“Maleficent” is accomplishes more with its high ambitions and practically
leaves those other two family movies embarrassingly in the dust. Children will
be enchanted by its accessibility and adults will be swept into the profound
themes found behind the horns of “Maleficent.”
