Ever After (DVD)

Yet another Drew Barrymore masterpiece. I have to say right at the start that the reason why, according to me, this film was such an acclaim was mostly due to Drew Barrymore's outstanding performance in Ever After. She is one actress who will never cease to amaze me. The film was enchanting, romantic and of an excellent quality. I loved absolutely everything about it; the acting, the plot and the fairytale-like aspect that cast a wonderful charm on the production from start to end. This is one movie that is granted to please any fans of romantic movies like me.

Plot:
This is the story of the real Cinderella narrated by the Queen to the Grim Brothers. Disappointed by their version of Cinderella, she calls them to the palace in order to tell them the true story. It starts a long time ago with a girl named Danielle. The little girl lived a peaceful life with her widowed father until he marries another woman with two little girls her age. When her father dies of a heart failure, Danielle is left at the mercy of her stepmother. The latter starts abusing of the girl's kind heart and vulnerability as she treats her like a slave. Danielle is reduced to working with the servants but she grows up to be a beautiful, kind hearted and feisty girl. And one day, she meets the Prince...

While I will not narrate the rest of the plot so as not to give spoilers away, I do have to admit that there is no spoilers or suspense in this film; everyone knows the story of Cinderella. But the special thing about this film is the particular version of the folktale depicted all throughout. I would describe Ever After as being an enhanced version of the children's story, one that even adults will thrive over. The producers managed to freeze the timeframe perfectly. There are some changes to the original Cinderella, as expected with every interpretation, and while I am usually someone who does not like such changes, I have to say that I can not imagine another plot for this film. I believe that these particular changes were made from the original story in order to suit a wider range of audience- like I said; both adults and kids will love this movie.

The acting was outstanding- every single actor was simply breathtaking in his or her role. Judging from her past performances, I would not expect less from Drew Barrymore- in typical fashion, she melted and merged herself so expertly to her character than she delivered a perfect performance. I was impressed by the manner in which she toyed with feelings. What personally struck me in her performance was how she switched from humorous to nostalgic, to romantic and angry within the sphere of minutes. I could gush on and on about her performance, but all I can say is that she certainly is not disappointing to those like me, who were impressed by her past acting.

But the one actress I was most impressed with was the one who depicted the blonde wicked stepsister in the film. Like many might note from my past reviews, I am very intrigued by the manner in which actors or actresses depict the villain in films. That actress was so, so convincing in her evil and pure machiavellic role that I sincerely developed a major hatred for her by the end of the film. I was extremely in awe by the way in which she cruelly twisted her eyes or smirked arrogantly at the "commoners"- I have yet to meet such a vile character in other films. I would say that the mark of great acting is when you really despise or like the character by the end of the film, and I wish I could torture this character to death. She was wonderfully convincing in her role of the wicked stepmother.

In addition, I also loved the chemistry between Danielle and the Prince. The atmosphere between them was far from being electric but the scenes with the two of them were really heartwarming and endearing. As mentioned above, Danielle is an extremely feisty girl and that lead to some fiery arguments and debates between her and the prince. These were the best scenes; the romantic atmosphere was really enhanced by the typical opposite attracts situation depicted from the very start of the film.
Cast list:

• Drew Barrymore
• Dougray Scott
• Anjelica Huston
• Jeanna Moreau
• Megan Dodds
• Melanie Lynskey
• Patrick Godfrey

DVD Extras:
* Trailer This was a huge, huge let-down to me after watching such a wonderful film! I really wish there could have been more to the extras!

Overall, not a film to miss. This is certainly a true fairytale- no giants or dragons to slay but romance and wicked stepmothers/sisters from start to end!

Thanks for reading!