Not an Ordinary Cinderella

Once upon a time, in a far away land…

When I was a kid I remember us receiving cartons and cartons of hardbound books from the United States. It did not dawn on me to ask who sent the books or why those were sent to us. My preoccupation then was how to finish reading those beautiful books of short stories and fairy tales. Just like an ordinary kid on the block, fairy tales were very much part and parcel of my childhood fantasies. I was fascinated no end by stories of chivalry, of a beautiful princess being rescued by a charming and courageous prince. Wicked people who make things difficult for my prince charming and beautiful princess outraged me.

Fairy tales (at least the ones we used to know) has an oft-repeated theme of a beautiful and rich but frail princess being rescued by a charming and gallant prince. The woman is always portrayed as weak and dependent and the man as a dashing hero, strong and courageous. How about a change in perspective?

Andy Tennant (director and screenwriter of the movie Ever After), applies a total paradigm shift in his presentation of this film based on the life of Cinderella. It is completely a far cry from the Cinderella story you and I are used to. In this movie, Drew Barrymore gives life to the character of Danielle, a 16th century young woman. Danielle is not your typical Cinderella. She is athletic and protective of people. She is beautiful yes, but her beauty is not merely skin deep. She loves to read St. Thomas More’s Utopia and can easily quote from it. She is independent and stands up with conviction against her scheming stepmother.

The story gives logic on specific actions of characters. In fact, Danielle’s decision to stay in his father’s house even if she were reduced to being a servant to her extended family stems not out of weakness but from her desire to preserve the memory of her beloved father. She is a survivor, certainly not the “typical damsel in distress” waiting for the prince to rescue her. On the contrary, it was she who rescued the prince from a pack of bandits by carrying him on her back. (God, how I laughed on this scene.) On many occasions her keen intelligence and firm opinion on certain subjects have somewhat put the prince ill at ease and painfully aware of his lack of conviction.

This is certainly a kind of fairy tale that has a touch of realism in it. It is a Cinderella story for the new generation. Tennant says he wants to present a different version of Cinderella story because he does not want his “children to grow up believing that one has to marry a rich man with a big house in order to live happily ever after.” Hurray for him!

I find the story very appealing. It’s not the kind of mushy romance we often see in other films. I love the way the character of Danielle is presented in this story.

There are many beautiful shots in this movie that are worth mentioning. Natural lighting is used in most scenes. I find those scenes where there are lots of interplay between light and shadows very intriguing and romantic. The director of photography, by the way, is Andrew Dunn, B.S.C. Sharing credits with Drew Barrymore are Dougray Scott as Prince Henry and Anjelica Houston as the scheming stepmother.