Title:
- Ever After
- Ever After: A Cinderella Story
Language: English
Year: 1998
Cast:
- Drew Barrymore
- Anjelica Huston
- Dougray Scott
- Patrick Godfrey
- Megan Dodds
- Melanie Lynskey
- Timothy West
- Judy Parfitt
SYNOPSIS
The 'real' story of Cinderella. A refreshing new take on the classic fairy tale.
Danielle's father remarried when she was eight years old. Soon after Danielle met her stepmother and her two stepsisters, her father passed away. Thereafter, Danielle worked as a servant in her stepmother's house.
To save a servant from being shipped to the colonies, Danielle pretended to be a courtier. She coincidentally met Prince Henry, the Crown Prince of France, as she is negotiating for the servant's release.
Most women are attracted to Prince Henry because of his station and his good looks but Danielle was not charmed by his title and his physical attributes. What made Danielle give him a second glance is the fact that he has read her favorite book 'Utopia' by Sir Thomas More.
REVIEW
Ever After: A Cinderella Story, or simply Ever After, is a great interpretation of Cinderella, which is actually one of my favorite fairy tales. I really like that Danielle has an educated mind and strong convictions. I would like to think that although Prince Henry was initially attracted to Danielle because of her beauty, he grew to love her because of her passions and convictions.
Although Danielle is a commoner, I think she is the best match of Prince Henry because she inspired him to become a better person, and hopefully help him become a better king when he ascends the throne. I think it's great that Danielle helped Prince Henry find direction, meaning, and purpose in his life because as Danielle told him, "You have been born with privilege and with that comes specific obligations".
In this adaptation, Danielle saved herself several times, and she even saved the prince on a few occasions. The female characters in fairy tales are always portrayed as damsels in distress who are in need of heroes so it's nice to see a female character who can protect and defend herself. I think Danielle is a great role model for little girls and if I ever have a daughter, I will definitely make her watch this movie when she is old enough.
It was sad to see Danielle try so hard to please her stepmother. All she ever wanted was to be accepted and loved as a daughter by her stepmother but it seems that her stepmother does not have any love to give to her. Actually, the stepmother seems to only love her favorite daughter Marguerite and she is also indifferent to her other daughter Jacqueline.
One of the characters in the movie is Leonardo da Vinci and he took on the role of the fairy godmother in this adaptation. The movie is a fantasy but some aspects are real and it was quite fun to try to figure out which parts are based on reality and which parts are products of creative license.
Because the movie was set in the olden times, the characters have elaborate clothes and intricate hairstyles. Whenever I watch this movie, I suddenly wish I have costume parties to attend so I have an excuse to wear gorgeous gowns and dainty tiaras.
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Ever After
