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ThatCruellais an atrocity with neither purpose nor soul shouldnt come as a surprise.
But its the way this tepid film operates that makes it galling.
She is a woman intent on skinning Dalmatians to make herself a coat.
Here, Cruella, played by Emma Stone, is softened and made aspirational.
(Although there is a throwaway joke about skinning Dalmatians that nods to her beginnings.)
Shes framed as such a rabble-rouser that the world doesnt know what to do with her.
She gets into fights at her prep school until shes kicked out.
Shes lonely; her only companion is a loyal puppy she finds who remains by her side.
They become lifelong friends, bringing her into their world of grifting and petty thievery.
Its here when Estella decides to become Cruella, setting her sights on usurping the Baroness as a designer.
Shes a girl boss pretending to fight against the powers that be.
It has nothing to say about how women move through the world.
Its hard to know where to begin with the aesthetic failures of this film.
There are odd choices, like the insistence on conveying information through newspaper headlines superimposed on a scene.
The needle drops are especially confounding.
The costume design, led by Jenny Beavan, is sometimes beautiful.
There are reams of crimson taffeta.
Cruellas trademark hair is fashioned into a crown.
Swooping gold collars frame her face and shoulders.
There are slinking gowns, towering heels, bodices thick with jewelry and boning.
Youve seen the madwoman before.
Shes your ex-girlfriend with smeared red lipstick refusing to quiet her anger during an argument.
Shes the former wife trapped in the attic whose machinations have been branded unfit for society.
But shes penalized for it because its outside of the constructs of society at the time.
Shes in this rigid English system where you cant be outside the lines.
This genre made stars out of women like Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck.
Ever since then Hollywood has discarded considerations of ageism.
Shes a tool for Cruella, not a defined character.
WhatCruelladoes have to say about womanhood is rooted in youthful whiteness.
(Story-by credits go to Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel, and Steve Zissis.)
In the past, Ive enjoyed Stones work inThe Favourite… and thats pretty much it.
But watchingCruellaled me to look at that performance from a different perspective.
Her gestures are empty a flourish of the wrist, the way she rolls or widens her searchlight eyes.
Everything feels underlined in a way to mark Cruella as weird and different from her surroundings.
But it just feels silly and poorly thought out.
She lacks a sense of play.
She doesnt feel bold enough to fully rock the ostentatious frocks she wears.
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