Cruella

By Ephraim Belnap

With great costume design, plot twists, and a killer jukebox soundtrack, Cruella is a triumph that sidesteps the infamous evil of the character. 

Directed by: Craig Gillespie

Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Mark Strong

Released: May 18 2021

   Cruella DeVille - the villain of the 1961 classic Disney animated film 101 Dalmatians - is a hard sell as a protagonist. Her motivation in said film is that she wants to harvest said Dalmatians - who it’s worth remembering are puppies - to make a series of fur coats. Purely for vanity’s sake. 

   Most Disney villains have a grain of sympathy in them, but this is just straight-up awfulness. That she was to be the subject of a Disney live-action film was a surprising and unpopular decision, drawing accusations that Disney was recklessly jumping on the villain-as-hero bandwagon started by Joker (2019) without understanding why that was successful. But those accusations were unfounded; Cruella is a tightly-plotted, highly enjoyable blockbuster of a film that uses the character’s aesthetic as a starting point and develops an entirely different story from it. 

Estella plots with her band of misfits, Horace and Jasper

   Cruella (played by Emma Stone) is no vain heiress; she’s a poor girl named Estella who dreams of designing high-end dresses in London’s West End. Tormented by the death of her mother, she ends up apprenticed to the infamous designer the Baroness of London (Emma Thompson) and is drawn into a world of intrigue and wonder, from whence the Cruella persona will emerge.

Emma Thompson stuns as the villainous Baroness

   But that is merely the starting point. The film features more plot twists than you can shake a stick at, and keeps you on your toes ‘til the very end. The two leads are excellently matched as a mentorship/rivalry, and the supporting cast lend the film humor and color. Those who remember the original will recognize homages to it, but the material stands on its own so well that you don’t miss much if you don’t. Set in a stylized 1970’s and centering on high fashion, the costumes and characters are gorgeous to behold, and the idea of appearance as character is both upheld and interrogated. And while casual audiences might find a fashion plot alienating, it sells itself excellently with the framing of the two leads. Like a fashionista Batman, Estella is a compassionate girl who adopts the “Cruella” persona in a quest for righteousness. And in turn, the Baroness - the true inheritor of the Cruella cruelty - is her arch-enemy; the antithesis of everything good. A brilliant performance by Emma Thompson (her first starring film role in a while) gives her grandeur and ego for the ages. Fashion is one field where their battle is waged, but like Batman, they don’t stick to one location. 

   While this film had an uphill climb on paper, in practice it is a masterpiece with a brilliant team of creators, well worth the price of admission, and fascinating for people of all ages. 

Cruella is now showing in theaters, and can be streamed on Disney+ with Premium Access