In France's long held cinematic tradition (famously, they made adaptations back in both the 20s and 40s to much acclaim) comes a new version of the famous fairy-tale-novella about beauty, romance and redemption. Really, what do I need to tell you about the plot?
Director Christophe Gans is certainly an interesting cookie, having helmed Brotherhood of the Wolf (a pseudo period piece-Hammer throwback-martial arts film) and the first Silent Hill (which seems to have garnered a sizeable cult following in recent years). He's sort of a French Burton-Snyder; a visual stylist who does a lot of genre work. Indeed, the nod to Burton is apt as it's pretty clear this exists to be the French answer to Alice or Oz, a lavish fantasy reinvention. But, how do the frogs cope? Not half bad actually.
Off the bat, the film is breath taking. The style takes from classic watercolour paintings and it gives the film such a vibrant gorgeous storybook feel, like the illustrations in one of those old leatherbound tomes. If one could guess what DelToro's Beauty would've looked like, this is not a bad approximation. What's more, CG aside, the Beast also sports some pretty decent practical makeup that does a good job conveying what a humanised lion may be like. Speaking of which, Vincent Cassel as the Beast is probably the strongest performer here; even under the makeup, he gives the role a ruthlessness but also gentility that perfectly fits the characters, and being tall certainly helps. Nothing against Lea Seydoux, who is perfectly fine as Belle, but this is Cassel's show.
Now of course, the film's somewhat mixed reception isn't unjustified; it does run on fairytale logic, which doesn't make the smoothest transition to screen and sometimes has characters do things just because. Then there's also these weird cartoon dogs which, though they have a justification in the film's world, they feel completely perfunctory; they don't fit with the Gothic atmosphere, they're more odd than cute and they aren't even really out to be funny, which you'd think would be why they are included. Also, if you thought Gaston was goofy, here we have a robber baron with a gypsy-fortune telling girlfriend who has actual psychic powers. Oh, and the final battle involves stone giants (hmm, did Aronofosky get a sneak peek?) and living roots that turn people into trees. Yeah....
But honestly, I found myself surprised by this one. Yes, it may not be very bountiful from a writing standpoint, but Gans' tricks and Cassel keep things constantly going and certainly with a lot more liveliness than Burton's rather dour 'Alice'. It won't wins prizes for bold new thought, but it's still a fairly impressive piece of larger scale filmmaking from Europe, and decent take on the famous story if you're maybe tired of talking candles and LeFou.
Director Christophe Gans is certainly an interesting cookie, having helmed Brotherhood of the Wolf (a pseudo period piece-Hammer throwback-martial arts film) and the first Silent Hill (which seems to have garnered a sizeable cult following in recent years). He's sort of a French Burton-Snyder; a visual stylist who does a lot of genre work. Indeed, the nod to Burton is apt as it's pretty clear this exists to be the French answer to Alice or Oz, a lavish fantasy reinvention. But, how do the frogs cope? Not half bad actually.
Off the bat, the film is breath taking. The style takes from classic watercolour paintings and it gives the film such a vibrant gorgeous storybook feel, like the illustrations in one of those old leatherbound tomes. If one could guess what DelToro's Beauty would've looked like, this is not a bad approximation. What's more, CG aside, the Beast also sports some pretty decent practical makeup that does a good job conveying what a humanised lion may be like. Speaking of which, Vincent Cassel as the Beast is probably the strongest performer here; even under the makeup, he gives the role a ruthlessness but also gentility that perfectly fits the characters, and being tall certainly helps. Nothing against Lea Seydoux, who is perfectly fine as Belle, but this is Cassel's show.
Now of course, the film's somewhat mixed reception isn't unjustified; it does run on fairytale logic, which doesn't make the smoothest transition to screen and sometimes has characters do things just because. Then there's also these weird cartoon dogs which, though they have a justification in the film's world, they feel completely perfunctory; they don't fit with the Gothic atmosphere, they're more odd than cute and they aren't even really out to be funny, which you'd think would be why they are included. Also, if you thought Gaston was goofy, here we have a robber baron with a gypsy-fortune telling girlfriend who has actual psychic powers. Oh, and the final battle involves stone giants (hmm, did Aronofosky get a sneak peek?) and living roots that turn people into trees. Yeah....
But honestly, I found myself surprised by this one. Yes, it may not be very bountiful from a writing standpoint, but Gans' tricks and Cassel keep things constantly going and certainly with a lot more liveliness than Burton's rather dour 'Alice'. It won't wins prizes for bold new thought, but it's still a fairly impressive piece of larger scale filmmaking from Europe, and decent take on the famous story if you're maybe tired of talking candles and LeFou.