The Beast is Back!
The Beast movie beats all others in that it is based on the
original fable and fairy tale.
From Snow to Cinders, it tells the true real story of the
princess and the frog.
The frog is not a frog at all, nor is the beast -as we all
know.
Back to back fun and mayhem in this classic drama romance
and sometimes comic noir film.
As the story has been known and
read all about, from the beginning of time, in cut out ‘anime-s’ and children’s
books, no need to expand on the romantic angle, except to say that it takes the
plot to another nuance.
It offers the French/stroke/Continental
cake slice of heaven in a film.
A slightly American gangster approach
to characters is also the favourite flavour.
To expand on this, I do mean that
it gives us the characters in a real every day setting but with the added drama
of the Hollywood angle.
Not many ‘hahas’ in the film, but
we find much of the subtle sarcastic look at the scenario of the ugly
sisters/ugly family, in one big setting.
The setting is country and
sensual ‘Chocolat’.
The characters vary from the
witch step mom, real mom in this case apparently, to the prince in drags, who
transforms from ‘beast’ to every day conquering hero.
The princess in this case is not
a pea at all but a beast in disguise too: the other side of the Alice mirror is
the wicked princess. It is the reflection of Snow White against the backdrop of
the wicked witch. I.E.: the wickedest witch offers herself the apple, and the snow
white witch takes the apple from the princess within. Criss cross!
Apparently, in this production,
the prince is gentler than he seems or should be.
He may be a gangster in paradise
with his princess, but she ends up surprising him with her own beasty nature of
violence within..
The violent setting is action
filled and has a twist at the end too.. The twists and turns are at every
corner because the characters are real and not fairy tale like. Too real in
fact…
The very poignant story takes us into portals of Alice in
wonderland dimensions, and from Snow’s nature woodlands to Cinderella’s pots
and pans.
The pots and pans are
metaphorical mostly, in that there is home style violence in this story,
ranging from the jealous school girl knifing her pretty friend, to the scars of
faces, and to the scars of necks, as the beast strangles cinders/beauty.
Does she die, or is she an
everlasting witch of a water dragon and a nature fairy type wife?
Does the story end well or not
quite as the fable predicts?
@Revenge is mine, said the wickedest
princess witch..
The effective ageless story line has the usual elements of
dinners and candle lit atmospheres, and mystery flavoured round the table
dressings.
The special effects are super supper sensually syrup superb.
Glazed effects of shaky cameras and of on purpose merging unclear
images, take over from time to time.
They take us to new dimensions and mountain dew heights of
rocky waterfall effects and to effective emotional action sequences.
From top to toe camera shots, profiles and close ups, to
walking forest tree shots, we end up listening to the dialogue through the hazy
dazed ears of the ‘music of the night’.
The notes and melodies cut through the talkies of the characters,
and silence is staccato, but also static silent.
‘Silence!’, said the Beast, and the Beauty too..Actions
speak louder than words do?
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