Loved the set design. LOVED it! I wish I could make my cluttered house look as elegant as the set designer did.
The dresses were great too. And the chemistry between C & K - awesome. Just awesome.
I only wish she'd used her 'real' name in the drawing room.
I liked how she drew out the look between herself and LTremaine. It's like you could see hamster wheel turning in Cate's mind, "What will she punish me with?" and then she doesn't, and it's such a shock that anyone would be so forgiving to her she can't stand anymore.
Very well done, and I'm so glad Ken B was directing - he's so very good at it.
Kenny B (Not be confused with Kenny G) was the perfect choice. In fact everything fell together just right. The cast was great, the script perfect, and the whole film came together to be fantastic. From now on this version is THE Cinderella!
Chemistry
Yes, C & K had very good chemistry. I read that, because they both came from television, this was their first "big" movie, and the were both playing such iconic roles, that they bonded over this new experience and became friends, saying, "We'll get through this together!" You can see it if you watch press junkets and interviews, they seem to get along great.
The name Cinderella
I think the reason she didn't use her real name was to show, again, her strength. Like when the British sang insulting songs and called the patriots "Yankees" in early revolutionary New England, the patriots just owned the term. To this day hundreds of years later, Yankee is a proud term New Englanders embrace.
For her to call herself Cinderella is to own the name and take any power from Lady Tremaine and her daughters. It is also a true sign of where she came from; the truth of her humble position - she wasn't nobility. She conquered the name and made it her own. I think Cinderella will become a loved nickname in her family and the story will be passed down to her children's children.
I saw it a second time and saw so much more!! I absolutely love it.
I saw something I missed the first time: A number of people noted that when the old loyal farmhand came to tell her that her father died, she says to him, "Thank you, that must have been difficult." (Or something like that) This is a great example of her empathy, and kindness even in the midst of great pain. What I missed was that if you listen carefully. When the doctor & father are talking after they come from Cinderella's mother's room with the news that she is going to die, Cinderella's father says the exact same thing to the doctor! It shows that Cinderella learned her great empathy and kindness from her father and mother!
The moment Cinderella pauses while everyone waits to see what she will say to Lady Tremaine and she says, "I forgive you." What power. What a wonderful choice.