Too Good? Thoughts on Cruella
Cruella was amazing. There was so much to enjoy. The fashion, the villain, Cruella herself. The sometimes over the top 60s and 70s music. This post is not at all to hate on Cruella, because apparently some people didn't like the movie.
But I do have one little complaint. It wasn't quite dark enough. Allow me to explain. (There will be spoilers ahead if you haven't seen it!)
We all know Cruella de Ville from the 101 Dalmatians animated movie. She's despicable, and crazy. She wants to take puppies and skin them just to make a coat. This is not a very likable to most of us.
Now, I know that they wanted us to like her enough in this movie to watch the whole thing and not leave in disgust. Because she has a negative change arc, it's okay for her to be likable in the beginning, so we can see how she goes downhill.
She does start off as someone we can root for. An underdog, told from an early age that she would never amount to anything, determined to prove the world wrong. She is a thief for a while before getting a job at the bottom of the heap at her favorite fashion house.
After a low moment, she manages to land a job with her idol, the Baroness. Everything is going well, until she learns that this is the woman who killed her mother at the beginning of the movie. Now she no longer wants to work for her, but have her revenge.
We rub our hands in excitement. Yes, now we're getting somewhere. Cruella will seek revenge against the advice of everyone and only get worse and more despicable as she stops at nothing to get it. And she sort of does that.
But there are two moments that ruin that. The first is when Cruella takes the Baroness's Dalmatians because one of them ate her mother's necklace (which is what triggers her to realize that she killed her mother). Cruella has started showing up to all the Baroness's events and showing her up with her spectacular outfits. The highlight of this is when she ruins her big season fashion show and puts on her own instead.
Earlier, we saw her designing a coat and looking at the Dalmatians. Here, she shows up wearing a coat with Dalmatian spots. All of, including the Baroness, assume that she killed them to make the coat.
Only it turns out, she didn't. For some reason, she chose to use faux fur instead of killing the dogs that killed her mother. I know they needed the dogs for the climax, but this would have been a powerful moments, showing us just how ruthless she's willing to be. The cherry on top of her fashion domination sundae.
The second moment is the end. We have your classic confrontation between the villain and the slightly less villainous villain. The same place where her mother died. Cruella has every opportunity, motivation, and build up to kill the Baroness. Having her push her off the cliff where her mother died would have been so satisfying, especially seeing the looks on her friend's faces as she does the thing they begged her not to do.
Instead, Cruella allows her alter ego, Estella, to be pushed off the cliff and "killed", so that the Baroness will be framed for murder and Cruella can live on. It's a complicated scheme, and really makes Cruella seem like a good person. The whole ending kind of makes me doubt her actually being a bad guy, what with her found family and matchmaking.
I know Disney wanted one of their classic happy endings, but not all stories need them. If they had ended with Cruella getting her revenge, we would have felt satisfied. Or, there's a moment earlier in the movie, where Cruella talks to her dead mother. She's cracking, and you can see that. If they had left us there, with Cruella alone and make-up running down her face, we would have been left thinking.
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| I mean, can imagine if this was the last shot of the movie? |
If they had made those two changes, I think this movie would have been spectacular. Or maybe if this movie had been made by another studio entirely. As it is, I enjoyed it a lot and would happily watch it again. (Also, you need to hear the credits song. It is a vibe.)
Is there a movie you wish had a better ending? Which Cruella is your favorite? Tell me in the comments.
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