What happened to the days of ambiguous storytelling? I know that I’m here to talk about a Disney movie, but I’m going to pull from some other areas of pop culture to really dig into the answer to this question, and subsequently also my frustration with some of the tentpole studio titles being released in our cinemas nowadays - but I digress. Recently I’ve been working my way through Taking Shape II: The Lost Halloween Sequels; the book, as you probably guessed, explores unproduced sequels to the famous Michael Myers franchise. What made 1978’s Halloween so revolutionary was the fact that the villain doesn’t seem to have an agenda, which results in him being even scarier due to his unpredictability. As the book, and even the actual sequels we got, explored, we have developed into a movie going public that seems to need an answer for why things are the way they are. Michael Myers was a landmark character because he didn’t have any of that origin story baggage. 

It remains one of the reasons that Halloween remains one of the most influential films for the same reason. Fast forward six years to a young Wes Craven. After years of looking for a studio to produce a little movie called A Nightmare on Elm Street, the world would finally know and fear the name Freddy Krueger. There’s a similar case to be made for the dream demon: what made him so scary was the fact that everyone has to sleep, and much of his past, outside of what Craven reveals here, is a mystery. However, as the documentary Never Sleep Again notes, that wasn’t always the case. Thus, sequels of the film slowly began to piece together an origin story for the character, trying to explain something that Craven never intended to reveal. Cruella isn’t the first time that Disney has taken the Michael or Freddy route and tried to explain something that didn’t need to be explained. 

Look at 2014's Maleficent. The Angelina Jolie-led film explored the antagonist from 1959’s Sleeping Beauty. The character was sympathetic and miles away from the dreadful villain of the famous 50s film. Disney does it once more with Cruella. The film explores the origin story of orphan turned mad fashion icon, Cruella de Vil (Emma Stone), as she tries to take down the height of the fashion world’s leading competitor, the Baroness (Emma Thompson). Unlike the 2014 outing of Maleficent, Cruella has given audiences someone to be sympathetic to, even if the results can be a tad sloppy in certain portions of the film. The film explores the youth of the 101 Dalmatians villain from orphan-turned-grifter-turned-fashion icon. The pacing of the film’s first two acts are immaculate. But towards the end of the second act when Estella, the precursor to Cruella, becomes Cruella, the film begins to slowly unravel.

For one there is no evolution in the transformation; it just sort of happens. This is the sound of the domino falling that turns Cruella from sympathetic character to generic origin story. To say the film’s third act is merely riddled with tropes and clichés would be a massive understatement. Nearly every action that the characters make in this act is predictable. Throughout the entirety of this act is it incredibly easy to unravel actions of these characters prior to them happening and still be 100% correct. If that’s not bad enough, it reduces the performances of both Stone and Thompson down to phoned in performances during the film’s climax. It’s incredibly heartbreaking that the film has to end on this type of note, especially considering how strong both performances are up to this point.

Stone equally personifies insanity and heartbreak. Her performance, while not a stand out, demonstrates the vast talent of Stone, which makes the third act that much more frustrating, given that her character becomes generic. She can’t even rise above the generic script to shine as she does in the film’s two previous acts. Subsequently, Thompson falls in the same way. She is one of the best on-screen villains I’ve come across this year. She is nothing short of ruthless and Thompson revels in that fact. It is a beautiful thing. But once again she is nothing more than a one-dimensional villain by the end of her journey in the film. Interestingly, the most consistent performances throughout the film actually come from its secondary cast.

Perhaps this is me being a little biased, but Paul Walter Hauser was the best part of this film for me. As Horace, his chemistry with fellow henchman, Jasper (Joel Fry), stands out with ease in the film. The two serve as the “straight man-funny man” dynamic for the film. It's a gamble that pays off in spades. Not only do the two have incredible chemistry but they also open up the film to explore emotions caused by primary characters - a rarity in these types of movies. When was the last time you saw a movie that explored the feelings of workplace abuse from being a henchman to the Joker or any other famous villain? Hauser is hilarious and just really well used throughout the film, whereas Fry is able to establish himself as the film’s emotional core. What could have been throwaway characters end up being the film’s biggest highlights. Bravo, Cruella, bravo.

Overall, the origin story of Cruella de Vil is just as split as her hair is. The film has mostly world class performances from its leads in Emma Stone and Emma Thompson. Both performances, along with the majority of the film, unravel in the film’s third act. Cruella becomes stale and predictable at that point in the film, which is a shame to say because the rest of the film is paced extraordinarily well. The through line of the film are the stand out performances from its secondary cast in Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser. Both deliver terrific dynamics for the film. Cruella might be after the 101 Dalmatians but she sure isn’t after the quality of her own movie. 

RORSCHACH RATING:

Mental Health Moment: Perhaps the most endearing thing about Cruella is the central relationship between Estella, Jasper, and Horace. The film’s first act establishes that the three were children who found themselves orphans and called one another family. They created their own family, so much so that in the film’s third act it’s joked that Estella introduces the ragtag team as her family. This is a really important aspect of the story but also for us as the audience. 

Family is a difficult thing to deal with sometimes. Our biological families can be some of the best people we know and some of the most poisonous triggers to our mental health. Regardless of where your biological family lands for you and your mental health, remember to have those in your corner that can make you laugh like Horace does and keep you grounded like Jasper does. Real family is made up of those who lift up your mental health and stick beside you regardless of the circumstance. Sometimes families are the circles of people we make for ourselves.

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Victims and Villains is written (and produced) by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey and others, and edited by Cam Smith. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Cruella is property of Walt Disney Pictures. We do not own nor claim any rights.

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