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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017)
As with most remakes, I was reticent about approaching the 2017 live action remake of the 1991 animated musical that was the first animated film to receive a Best Picture nomination, but fears were almost immediately vanquished by this elaborate and exquisitely detailed live action rendering of the classic fairy tale which fleshes out some characters and plot points to maximum effect and really brings into focus who the real villain of this piece is.
For those who didn't see the 1991 film, Belle is a dreamy-eyed romantic girl growing up in a tiny French village who is considered an oddball because she likes to read and is not in a hurry to find a husband. An arrogant French soldier named Gaston has decided that he wants Belle as his bride whether she's interested or not. Belle's father leaves the village and is taken prisoner by a beast who lives in a huge gothic mansion because Belle's father attempted to steal a rose for Belle. This rose is the key to a curse that was put on the Beast many years ago and he could never become normal again without it and the love of a woman. Belle goes to the castle to barter her father's freedom and agrees to stay at the castle in exchange for her father's freedom, setting the stage for one of the greatest love stories ever mounted.
Bill Condon, who directed the film version of Dreamgirls and won an Oscar for the screenplay of Gods and Monsters, has triumphed here, mounting a musical feast for the eyes and ears that not only delivers the story that was brought to us in charming animated form in 1991, but clears up a few points that the 1991 version didn't make as clear. In this film, we are privy to the curse that is placed on the Beast and, more importantly, why it was placed on him. It was quite the eye opener to learn that this guy was kind of a jerk even before he become the beast and his jerkiness was definitely intensified by the curse, but he was no saint at the beginning of the story and I liked the fact that it really was Belle's love that changed him. I loved the slow burn of the relationship between Belle and the Beast...I love when her face lights up when she sees his library and he gives it to her. This version of the story also makes it very clear that Gaston is the villain here and not the Beast. Granted he starts off as sort of a comic villain, but for the final act of the film, the character's humor has faded and we are left with one of cinema's most venomous antagonists.
Most of the songs written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman wrote for the 1991 film are back, including "Belle", "Be Our Guest", "Something There", "Gaston", and the Oscar winning title tune. There are also a couple of new songs written especially for this film including "The Mob Song" and "Evermore".
Condon has employed superb production values in bringing this classic tale vividly to life, the movie features absolutely superb art direction/set direction, cinematography, editing, costumes, makeup, and visual effects. The technical artistry in bringing the Beast's household staff to life, like Lumiere and Cogsworth is nothing short of incredible.
Condon's casting instincts were also pretty much on the money here...Emma Watson made an enchanting Belle and Dan Stevens brought a sophisticated elegance to the Beast that was joy to watch. Luke Evans beautifully underplays as Gaston, a character who could have been just a one-dimensional, mustache-twirling villain, but Evans brought a twinkle to Gaston's eye and a sleaze to his agenda that made him the perfect guy for this story and he was perfectly complemented by Joshua Gad as LeFou, Gaston's companion who eventually sees Gaston's true colors. Bouquets as well to Ewan MacGregor as the voice of Lumiere, Ian McKellen as the voice of Cogsworth, and Emma Stone as the voice of Mrs. Potts. And let's not forget Oscar winner Kevin Kline as Belle's father. Fans of the 1991 film should find entertainment value here. I did.
As with most remakes, I was reticent about approaching the 2017 live action remake of the 1991 animated musical that was the first animated film to receive a Best Picture nomination, but fears were almost immediately vanquished by this elaborate and exquisitely detailed live action rendering of the classic fairy tale which fleshes out some characters and plot points to maximum effect and really brings into focus who the real villain of this piece is.
For those who didn't see the 1991 film, Belle is a dreamy-eyed romantic girl growing up in a tiny French village who is considered an oddball because she likes to read and is not in a hurry to find a husband. An arrogant French soldier named Gaston has decided that he wants Belle as his bride whether she's interested or not. Belle's father leaves the village and is taken prisoner by a beast who lives in a huge gothic mansion because Belle's father attempted to steal a rose for Belle. This rose is the key to a curse that was put on the Beast many years ago and he could never become normal again without it and the love of a woman. Belle goes to the castle to barter her father's freedom and agrees to stay at the castle in exchange for her father's freedom, setting the stage for one of the greatest love stories ever mounted.
Bill Condon, who directed the film version of Dreamgirls and won an Oscar for the screenplay of Gods and Monsters, has triumphed here, mounting a musical feast for the eyes and ears that not only delivers the story that was brought to us in charming animated form in 1991, but clears up a few points that the 1991 version didn't make as clear. In this film, we are privy to the curse that is placed on the Beast and, more importantly, why it was placed on him. It was quite the eye opener to learn that this guy was kind of a jerk even before he become the beast and his jerkiness was definitely intensified by the curse, but he was no saint at the beginning of the story and I liked the fact that it really was Belle's love that changed him. I loved the slow burn of the relationship between Belle and the Beast...I love when her face lights up when she sees his library and he gives it to her. This version of the story also makes it very clear that Gaston is the villain here and not the Beast. Granted he starts off as sort of a comic villain, but for the final act of the film, the character's humor has faded and we are left with one of cinema's most venomous antagonists.
Most of the songs written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman wrote for the 1991 film are back, including "Belle", "Be Our Guest", "Something There", "Gaston", and the Oscar winning title tune. There are also a couple of new songs written especially for this film including "The Mob Song" and "Evermore".
Condon has employed superb production values in bringing this classic tale vividly to life, the movie features absolutely superb art direction/set direction, cinematography, editing, costumes, makeup, and visual effects. The technical artistry in bringing the Beast's household staff to life, like Lumiere and Cogsworth is nothing short of incredible.
Condon's casting instincts were also pretty much on the money here...Emma Watson made an enchanting Belle and Dan Stevens brought a sophisticated elegance to the Beast that was joy to watch. Luke Evans beautifully underplays as Gaston, a character who could have been just a one-dimensional, mustache-twirling villain, but Evans brought a twinkle to Gaston's eye and a sleaze to his agenda that made him the perfect guy for this story and he was perfectly complemented by Joshua Gad as LeFou, Gaston's companion who eventually sees Gaston's true colors. Bouquets as well to Ewan MacGregor as the voice of Lumiere, Ian McKellen as the voice of Cogsworth, and Emma Stone as the voice of Mrs. Potts. And let's not forget Oscar winner Kevin Kline as Belle's father. Fans of the 1991 film should find entertainment value here. I did.