Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Review

Several years ago, author Seth Grahame-Smith had a brilliant idea to take the classic Jane Austin novel, Pride and Prejudice and add zombies to it. The resulting book, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was literally the Jane Austin novel with a words changed here and there and occasional full paragraphs added so as to have zombies in the classic piece of literature. This book was so well received that it was number three on the New York Times bestseller list for a while, sold out on Amazon.co.uk's website and required a second printing, and was even on Oprah's Book Club at one point. With a book resume like that, a movie was inevitable. As a movie Pride and Prejudice and Zombies wasn't exactly good, but it was fun and one of the more enjoyable film adaptations of a Jane Austin book I've ever seen.

A zombie outbreak has fallen upon the land in Jane Austen's classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England. The five Bennet sisters must cope with the pressures to marry while protecting themselves from a growing population of zombies. Feisty Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) is a master of martial arts and weaponry and the handsome Mr. Darcy (Sam Reilly) is a fierce zombie killer, yet the epitome of upper class prejudice. When zombie outbreaks begin happening within the supposedly safe walls of mansions during social gatherings, the two characters begin to suspect that there is someone helping the zombies get in. As the zombie outbreak intensifies, they must swallow their pride and join forces on the blood-soaked battlefield.

I have tried to read Jane Austin a couple of times and have found her writing to be lyrical with certain poetry to it, albeit very dry and verbose to the point that it's positively arduous to read. I figured with the addition of zombies the classic novel would be easier to read, especially with opening lines like, "It is a fact universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." Alas, what little of the book I made it through was still so "Austiny" I just couldn't get into it. It is literally the Jane Austin classic with small bits and pieces changed or added here and there. It feels very much like a Jane Austin novel.

For the movie, it still feels a lot like a Jane Austin-inspired movie, but with zombies in it. There is articulate dialogue, beautiful sets, lovely costumes, gossip about marriage, and melodramatic spectacles. There are also zombies to stir things up every now and again. This is still mostly the same story but with a lot garnish added that generates an appeal to 14 year old boys; zombies, fight scenes, and explosions. One of my favorite parts of the original Austin story is when Mr. Darcy proposes marriage to Elizabeth; she rejects him with the most elegant, eloquent, and ladylike verbal slap in the face. That same exchange is present in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but in this version Elizabeth is so offended and enraged by the audacity of Darcy's proposal, that the two get into a pretty fantastic duel using all their fighting skills while using the same eloquent dialogue during the fight scene. I daresay having Elizabeth fight while rejecting the marriage proposal cheapens the words used, but it sure is a whole lot of fun to watch! That pretty well sums up the movie; the addition of zombies  and fight scenes is a whole lot of fun, but cheapens their original context making it rather ridiculous.

At one point, The Bennet Family is visited by Mr. Collins who is played by The Doctor Matt Smith. As an avid Doctor Who fan, it's weird to see Matt Smith outside of his role as The Doctor. Mr. Collins intends to marry one of the Bennet sisters, but is disliked across the board. Mr. Collins provides a lot of the comic relief, something that Matt Smith is pretty good at. It's still the kind of humor one might find in a Jane Austin novel; obliviousness to protocol, social awkwardness, and the fact that the Bennet sisters frequently try to politely get as far away from him as possible. Comedy isn't the point of this movie, but it's a much needed addition which keeps the ridiculous premise from taking itself too seriously.

The zombie mayhem was delightful. Rotting corpses in 19th century period costumes shambling around attacking aristocrats is a tantalizing treat for zombie enthusiasts. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a nice PG-13 romp and the violence stays within those boundaries. Decomposing reanimated corpses do tend to be on the grotesque side as a matter of principle, so we do see minor bits of blood and gore every now and again and plenty of very ugly zombies. Thankfully the truly gruesome zombie slaying stays off screen. Sure, that kind of thing is fun every now and again, but I don't personally care for visually explicit violence.  There were a few times I thought the movie was pushing what it could get away with in terms of violent action, but it still stays within PG-13 quality material. Maybe not something I'd take anyone younger than a teenager to see.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies wasn't a particularly good movie, but it was fun. It manages to wring a few fun moments out of its premise, but never quite delivers the thoroughly kooky mash up the title suggests. It's an over-the-top combination of the beloved 19th century novel and the unquenchable and inexplicable modern demand for all things to be zombie-fied, resulting in bizarrely daft movie which had a few moments of real invention and undeniable wit. Much like Austin's Mr. Collins character, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is absurd, self-important, and not nearly as clever or elegant as it thinks it is. It's still pretty fun nonetheless. It remains affectionately faithful to the original characters and structure, there are just zombies thrown into the mix. I think this is worth one viewing, it's ultimately a forgettable movie experience, but it's a fun movie experience while it lasts. I'm glad I saw it; it's just not something I'd go out of my way to see again. I'd wait for it on home video if you plan to see it at all.

I'd love to see a mash up of more classic literature and outlandish monster mayhem. Something like Lord of the Flies and Body Snatchers or something like that. What are other weird combinations that might be fun to see? Comment below and let me know!

Cinderella Review

Last year Disney released a live action retelling of their animated classic Sleeping Beauty in the film Maleficent. It was okay; it would have been much worse without Angelina Jolie. This year, another live action remake of different animated Disney classic was released. After Maleficent's hype and subsequent mediocrity, I wasn't too keen on seeing the new Cinderella (2015). I was pleasantly surprised to find an engaging movie that has stuck to its (Disney) source better than the other fairy tale movies that have been released in the past several years.

Young Ella (Lily James) was raised in a happy and loving home by her parents (Ben Chaplin & Hayley Atwell). Her merchant father remarries following the tragic death of her mother. Keen to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) and her daughters Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drizella (Sophie McShera) into the family home. But when Ella's father suddenly and unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of a jealous and cruel new family. Finally relegated to nothing more than a servant girl covered in ashes, and spitefully renamed "Cinderella" since she is made to work in the cinders, Ella could easily begin to lose hope. Yet, despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella is determined to honor her mother's dying words to "have courage and be kind." She will not give in to despair nor despise those who abuse her. One day Cinderella meets a dashing stranger in the woods (Richard Madden). Unaware that he is really a prince, not merely an employee at the palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred soul. It appears as if her fortunes may be about to change when the palace sends out an open invitation for all maidens to attend a ball, raising Ella's hopes of once again encountering the charming "Kit." Alas, her stepmother forbids her to attend and callously rips apart her dress. But as in all good fairy tales, help is at hand as a kindly beggar woman (Helena Bonham Carter) steps forward and, armed with a pumpkin and a few mice, changes Cinderella's life forever.

It's interesting that Disney chose to stick to the sweet innocence of their classic animated feature when remaking this live action adaptation. We've had movies like Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the Huntsman, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, and Jack the Giant Slayer which are all dark reimaginings of Grimm's fairy tales. But Cinderella stuck to its guns and remained a cute, romantic, and charming adaptation of the Disney animated classic. Had this come out ten years ago, I don't think it would have been as well received. Many of these dark fairy tales explore themes such as feminism, the blurred lines between hero and villain, and the strength of women. Those are great, and this Cinderella does focus on feminine strength, but not the sort in the previously mentioned movies. I think that to contrast these dark interpretations, Cinderella provides some pleasant themes of kindness for which we redeveloped a craving after all the mature and dark movies of the past decade. Some of them were good, but Cinderella is kind of a breath of fresh air we didn't realize we wanted.

This Cinderella has been criticized for making a weak girly character of its tragic heroine, lacking agency and independence. I disagree! Cinderella does have horrible things happen to her; had I been in her shoes I would have retaliated. But despite her circumstances, she chooses to return Lady Tremaine's cruelty with kindness and patience. She had the power to leave her abusive stepmother at any time, but chose to care for the home of her parents to honor their memory in spite of how demeaning and emotionally painful her stepfamily was. Also, in the scene where Prince "Kit" and Cinderella meet in the woods, at no point did I feel like he was in control. Cinderella was in control of the conversation and the outcome and allowing herself to be herself, regardless of what was thought of her. Furthermore, Cinderella had no interest in meeting the prince at the ball; her whole motive for attending was to simply have another chance meet the young man she'd met in the woods, not knowing he actually was the prince. She was not interested in high society, glitz and glamor, nor was she seeking to anything of self-interest. Cinderella was simply seeking a kindred spirit. This character is not defined by the men in her life, nor is she seeking to live up to men's expectations. Having said that, I think this Cinderella is more pro-feminism than Maleficent was; female strength needn't be physical nor should it be defined as power over men. It can very much be strength of character and sticking to ones principles. I love the warrior princess characters we've had in the past couple of years such as Merida in Brave, she and others are fantastic and worth emulating. I'm simply delighted to see a female protagonist be the type of woman who has the courage to be kind in a world full of cruelty. That's the kind of strength of character I think we should encourage and instill within our daughters.

I think this Cinderella is a better role model than its animated predecessor. I never liked the animated Cinderella movie that much because kind as the character is, she basically sits around wishing things were better and wants to go to the ball because girls like that kind of thing and the prince is handsome. This doesn't lend itself to depth of character, and even as a kid I thought she was uninteresting. I don't really like characters who rely on others to fix things for them, regardless of gender. This Cinderella, though, sticks to her principles with kindness and patience. She has moments of sorrow, but recommits herself to being a good person. It's not until she has reached her lowest low that her will finally breaks and begins to accept the world as a cruel place, no matter how hard she tries to make it good. At this point her Fairy Godmother intervenes, not to solve all her problems, but to give her the boost she needs to overcome her trials and find a sense of happiness again. The deus ex machina plot device that the fairy godmother normally provides is still present, but this Cinderella seems much more deserving of it. She's worked hard to be a force for good in her world rather than simply wishing things would get better.

I often mention good costuming to illustrate a time period. But the costumes and dresses in Cinderella were stunning and gorgeous beyond compare! Lady Tremaine's dresses are always the height of fashion, and Blanchett displays them as well as any fashion model would. The gown that Cinderella is granted for the ball is striking and resplendent; often put against orange colors, blue dress looks picturesque in every shot and almost seems to gracefully move of its own accord while Cinderella dances.

The only real issue I had with Cinderella was the CGI animal friends. Cute animal sidekicks and friends work well in animated Disney features, but in live action movies they tend to become awkward very quickly. I saw them in the trailer and was worried they would act as the primary comic relief, and be silly as they so often do in animated features. While they do appear regularly in the movie, it's only for short bouts and they act mostly like normal mice. I think it would have been just a little bit better had they trained some mice to run around looking cute rather than having slightly cartoonish digital mice run around looking cute.

Cinderella is a fantastic remake of Disney's classic animated feature. It's refreshingly traditional in this revisionist era of movie remakes. Kenneth Branagh shows us that Disney hasn't lost any of its old fashioned magic. This version has more depth and complexity than the original, but holds true to the classic tale even with some unexpected twists. They've done something right; this story has been retold many times over.  This fresh take on the story caused me to gasp a few times. This Cinderella is a stronger and more interesting character than her animated predecessor, and of a class that I would like to see more of. I even got caught up in the romance which is normally so clichéd that I check out of that particular subplot.  Cinderella is a good movie! The camera work was breathtaking in some scenes, especially the fireworks display at the ball.  After mulling it over in my mind, I've decided that I want a copy of it on Blu-Ray when it becomes available. You can wait until then if you want, but I think this is worth the price of a movie ticket.

With Cinderella being as well done as it was, I think I'm looking forward to Disney's upcoming live action Beauty and the Beast movie. That's one of my favorite animated Disney movies, and they'd better not screw it up! What are your feelings about this Cinderella movie and the upcoming Beauty and the Beast one? Comment below and let me know!