“I never thanked you for saving my life.” ~ Belle
“I never
thanked you for not leaving me to be eaten by wolves.” ~ Beast
“If she is the one to break the spell, you must finally
learn to love.” ~ Lumiere
“Well of course he can talk! It’s all he ever does!” ~
Cogsworth
“The master’s not as terrible as he appears.” ~ Mrs. Potts
“I’m coming for you, Beast!” ~ Gaston
“My dear Belle, you’re so ahead of your time. This is a
small village, and it’s small minded, as well. But small also means safe.” ~
Maurice
“You take me as your prisoner, and now you want to have
dinner with me? Are you insane?” ~ Belle
“Think of the one thing that you’ve always wanted. See it in
your mind’s eye and feel it in your heart.” ~ Beast
In 1991, Disney released their animated version of Beauty & The Beast, a musical take on the fairy tale that I would argue is the best animated film
they ever did. It featured the tale of a young restless woman who sacrifices
her freedom to save her father, becoming the prisoner of a beast in an
enchanted castle, with the two characters bantering as they got to know each
other. The film also subverted the traditional animated fairy tale motif by
having the handsome local lad end up revealed as the true monster of the story.
In recent years, Disney has been adapting some of their animated films into
live action counterparts, such as Cinderella,
Alice In Wonderland, and The Jungle
Book, while turning Sleeping Beauty in
a different direction by giving us a sympathetic villainess in Maleficent. Now we have a live action
take on Beauty & The Beast that
follows the animated version fairly closely, adding in an extra character here
or there, as well as extra songs. And while I generally dislike musicals, that
doesn’t apply here.
The prologue tells us of a French prince who coldly
dismisses an elderly woman seeking shelter, only to discover too late that
she’s an enchantress. Seeking to teach him a lesson in humility, she places a
curse on him, transforming him into a hideous beast and enchanting his castle
and staff, all of whom find themselves turned into household objects. And for
good measure she puts a time limit on the hex, which will last forever if he
can’t earn the love of another by the time the last petal falls on the
enchanted rose she leaves behind. Needless to say, this leaves the beast a wee
bit annoyed.
Some years later, we meet Belle (Emma Watson), a curious and
intelligent girl living in a quiet French village with her inventor father
Maurice (Kevin Kline). She’s bored of the small minded routine of the village,
yearning for adventure. And she finds the romantic attentions of a former
soldier turned hunter and perpetual egomaniac, Gaston (Luke Evans) to be more
than a little irritating. After Maurice disappears during a trip to sell his
goods, Belle follows his trail to a mysterious castle, where he is being held
by the Beast (Dan Stevens). She offers herself in her father’s place as his
hostage.
The original animated film adapted the fairy tale into a
musical fantasy form, which later became a Broadway musical, part of a pattern
of Broadway over the last couple of decades to reconfigure movies into stage
musicals (one thinks Broadway producers have run out of ideas). The idea of
adapting that stage musical into a live film was considered for a time, but
instead, with previous adaptations of animated films into live action, the
decision was made to do the same, using the animated film as its source
material. Bill Condon (Gods And Monsters,
Kinsey, Chicago) was brought on board as director. He also had a hand in
the Twilight films, directing the
last two of that series, but we won’t hold that against him. Condon’s experience
with Chicago is likely the most
relevant for him, given the musical genre both share, and given the need for
pacing, choreography, and splendor that the genre requires.
The screenplay is based on the 1991 screenplay, but was also
worked on by two other writers in pre-production, Stephen Chbosky and Evan
Spiliotopoulos. The story follows the original film closely, with some tweaks
and additions here and there. It also preserves the original songs by Howard
Ashman and Alan Menken, as well as Menken’s score, while Menken returned for
additional scoring here, and a handful of new songs co-written with Tim Rice.
It’s a wise thing to stick close to the original film’s storyline, which turned
the traditional Disney fairy tale on its head by having the hero saved by the
heroine, and by having the villain look very much like you’d have expected the
traditional Disney hero to look. The story emphasizes the shifting relationship
between Belle and the Beast, her strength of character, his gradual redemption,
and the true ugliness of narcissism where Gaston is concerned. Along the way it
weaves in mystery, Gothic moodiness, and a rich sense of humour, as well as
moments of tender poignancy, some of which you already see coming, but others
that are drawn out of the expanded backgrounds of both Belle and the Beast.
The production was largely done in studio sets in the UK, and
the result brings to life an enchanted (and largely foreboding at
first) castle, the forests around it, the hexed servants, and the quaint French
village life in different ways. Some of that is CGI- the servants cursed into
anthromorphic household items, for instance, would be a combination of CGI and
voice work performance. They look more
realistic than their animated counterparts; these objects wouldn’t look out of
place in an antique shop when they’re still, but once they start talking,
you’re not looking at a household object. Costuming and set design make the
film a visual feast, rendering close to the look of the original film,
particularly with the way the Beast looks, or Belle’s choice of clothing.
The cast fit their
roles well. Josh Gad plays Gaston’s sidekick LeFou as bumbling, much too loyal
(to a point), and over the top. He’s all too eager to just take the
mistreatment Gaston hands out, and spends too much time bolstering his ego.
There’s a twist you might have known about in advance, which is a different
spin from the animated version. Lefou is less of a weasel and a bit brighter
than his animated counterpart, occasionally trying to pull Gaston back from a
bad decision. Kevin Kline gets to play Maurice, who in the animated version is
more eccentric (and shorter). His take on Belle’s father is protective but
noble, and world weary and a bit melancholy. Kline gives the character a
wonderfully poignant sensibility, particularly as the film heads towards its
conclusion, and his Maurice proves to be resourceful and wry.
Stanley Tucci plays a new character added into the mix,
Maestro Cadenza, the court composer who’s been turned into a harpsichord, and
he gives the role a touch of class. Cadenza does have a connection to a
previously established character- Madame de Gardrobe, the wardrobe of the
animated film, an opera singer who happens to be his wife. Here she’s played by
Broadway veteran Audra McDonald as marvelously larger than life. Another character
from the original film, the housemaid transformed into a feather duster (and
lover of a certain candlestick), appears as well. Plumette, as she’s called, is
played by the actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The actress gives her vocal performance
a romantic mood. Hattie Morahan appears as the Enchantress, the role expanded from being a prologue presence to turning up here and there through the film in an unexpected way. She's largely quiet, but ever watchful.
Emma Thompson takes the motherly role of Mrs. Potts, the
head of the kitchen before the curse, who has found herself transformed into a
tea pot. She gives the character the same sort of no-nonsense take charge
spirit that Angela Lansbury did in her vocal take on the role in the animated
film, not minding the idea of standing up to her overly gruff boss. Ian
McKellan is an inspired choice as the brusque head of the household, Cogsworth,
who has found himself transformed into a mantle clock. He’s loyal and fussy,
and his constant arguing with Lumiere is a treat to watch, as it was the first
time around. McKellan gets the character just right. Lumiere himself gets so
many of the good lines, and it was another inspired choice to have Ewan
McGregor play the charming ladies man turned candelabra. He’s a romantic flirt,
brave and charging headlong into trouble, but always with an eye for an
attractive lady, even if she has turned into a feather duster.
Luke Evans has that Hollywood leading man look to him, which
he’s used before, as the heroic Bard in two of The Hobbit films, or as Dracula in Dracula Untold. He’s well cast here as Gaston, with chiselled good
looks that quickly give way to rampant narcissism, self absorbed stroking of
his own ego, an obliviousness to reality, and an underlying malice. The
animated film gave the character the general looks you’d have expected out of
their classic princes in their fairy tale adaptations back in the day before
quickly showing him up to be a dimwitted egomaniac (it only took all of one
sentence out of Gaston’s mouth to start seeing him for the jerk he was). The
same applies here- Evans gives us a Gaston who’s full of himself, a chauvinist who
thinks little of a woman thinking for herself. Really, he thinks little at all,
because Gaston isn’t the brightest guy out there. And at the same time, there’s
a nastiness in the character that Evans brings out so well, matching the
animated version. Gaston is arrogance writ large, a sort of reflection of the
arrogance that brought down a curse on the young prince, but unlike the Beast,
there can be no redemption for him. As Belle says late in the film, Gaston is
the real monster of the story.
Dan Stevens is best known for his role on Downton Abbey, which I’ve never seen,
and the same applies for his current role on the series Legion. So this is the first time I’ve seen him in anything. He was
a good choice as the Beast, which is part makeup and costuming (with surely
some CGI thrown in along the way, because he’s taller as the Beast than he is
in his human form). But it’s the actor who gives the character his heart, his
personality, and his soul. The arrogance of the prince whose callous dismissal
brings down a curse on himself and his home gives way to the anger, despair,
and bitterness of a man transformed into what he sees as a monster. The anger
and menace is how we first see him, here and there in the shadows, but behind
all that is a wounded soul, brought down to humility. The gradual evolution of
his relationship with Belle- first from accepting her as a substitute prisoner
for her father, than to saving her life and falling for her- also follows his
shifting as a character, out of despair, into accepting responsibility for his
own actions and ultimately into giving up that what he wants most. He might
look like a monster, but the story makes a good man out of him, someone capable
of mercy to those who come to do him harm.
Emma Watson of course is best known to audiences for her
role as Hermione in the Harry Potter series,
but that doesn’t factor into how we see her here. She instead immerses herself
into the role completely, giving Belle the innate intelligence, curiosity,
resourcefulness, and spirit of the character. There’s a restlessness in Belle
when we first meet her, a yearning for something more than the village life she
finds herself in- and the disregard most of the villagers have where she’s
concerned. The way she relates to her father is believable and affectionate,
which makes her act of sacrifice, offering herself as a prisoner in her father’s
place, entirely understandable. Her initial revulsion at the Beast aside (first
impressions aren’t that good when the guy’s holding your dad hostage), she
proves to be fearless and defiant regardless. And when she gets a chance to
escape, after he’s saved her life, she instead saves him, takes care of him,
and a great shift in their relationship begins. The actress brings all of this
into her performance, shares great chemistry with her leading man, and gives
Belle heart, poignancy, and strength as the story goes along.
Is the new live action adaptation as good as its animated
counterpart? No, but that’s a high bar to catch up to; the 1991 film was as
near to perfect as a film can be. Yet it stands out so very well on its own, proving to
be entertaining in its own right, and a thoroughly enjoyable film. It is a
lavishly filmed story with heart, humour, poignancy, and thrills, one that will
tug at your heart strings while leaving you amused. Bearing in mind that I
generally hate musicals, I found myself grinning more than once during
showstopper tunes like Be Our Guest, but it’s the story, and the
dynamics of characters, particularly the leads, that make this film so
appealing. Beauty & The Beast has heart and soul, and it's well worth seeing.
