The tale of Sleeping Beauty is well known in the western world. An evil witch curses the baby princess Aurora, so that on her 16th birthday she shall be pricked by a spinning needle, and fall into an endless sleep—a spell only to be broken by true love’s kiss.
As the story goes, Aurora is hidden in the forest by her father, the king, and is given to the care of three kind fairies in a desperate bid to avoid falling victim to the spell; but of course, her fate cannot be avoided.
Maleficent gives us a fresh perspective on this well-known bedtime story. That of the ‘evil witch’—and, with Angelina Jolie slipping into the lead role, the tale is a frightfully seductive one.
In Maleficent we get the back-story, which sets up the curse, the jealousy and the hatred. Finally, the ‘evil’ is explained, and we are reminded that there are always two sides to a story.
The film starts out a little patchy, with the young Maleficent and Stefan (who goes on to become the king) offering shaky performances. However, from the moment the grown Maleficent enters the fray (thanks to Angelina Jolie), the film elevates to something truly entrancing.
The film is careful to keep the key events intact, making this retelling plausible. Jolie and Elle Fanning as the grown Aurora pair wonderfully, and this young girl’s fairy tale has a few of us older girls feeling nostalgic for the tales and wonder of childhood years. Finally, the evil witch is given her just exposition (and King Stefan no longer seems as innocent).
It’s been a long time since we last saw Jolie on the big screen, and her beauty remains like few who have graced it. As an actress, she has had many highs—and a few lows—but if ever there was ever a woman with features so striking and attitude so bold as to play Maleficent, and to do her justice, Jolie would be the only choice.
This is a children’s film that adults can enjoy. It has a few scary looking forest beasts, so it might be best avoided by the very young. The scene where Jolie’s own daughter, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, plays the young Aurora is a wonderful moment. It’s one of many highlights that comes from Jolie’s clear enjoyment of the role.
Wickedly delicious and with just the right amount of humour, Maleficent is arguably the fairy tale that many young girls who grew tired of females being caricatured as either the wicked witch or the hapless damsel have longed for.
Finally, in Maleficent, we have a fairy tale anti-hero that puts Prince Charming on notice. (And it’s kind of refreshing that Disney is part of it.)
Directed by: Robert Stromberg
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning
Rating: M
Runtime: 97 minutes
Release Date: 29 May
Reviewer rating: 3.5/5