The Live-Action "Beauty and the Beast" Review

As this is one of my favorite movies of all time, a short review wouldn't do it justice. My reviews will mainly be comprised of bits and parts that I wish to remember in addition to generally noticeable aspects. Therefore, an odd breakdown of multiple (very) specific moments in much detail is what's coming up! I applaud those of you who read until the very end. Also, be forewarned there are spoilers ahead.

Several pre-known changes to the Live-Action version worried me. Before I even bought my ticket, I was already thinking I would not be as thrilled by it’s outcome as I thought I would be. To my relief, I was pleasantly surprised by the reinvention of the time-old tale Beauty and the Beast.

Although actors typically receive the most attention and count for most of any movie’s success or failure, for obvious reasons, I'll begin by saying that I found my appreciation for the film first in the beautiful castle architecture. Throughout it, I was drawn in by the richness of the visual spectacle and I appreciated that the castle was not located in some make-believe fairytale world.

There was in fact an actual historical basis for it. The time period was Late Rococo, or Late Baroque, 18th Century France and Prince Adam's (yes, that is Beast's name) makeup in the beginning is reminiscent of this time period, with a pale white face, painted lips, and carefully placed beauty marks. The prince also wears a powdered wig and a beautiful navy blue and gold three-piece suit with spool heels topped with a bow. (I wish I could have found a picture, but I’m sure there will be more floating around as time goes by. See this link for a behind the scene glimpse of it.)

The castle itself, after being overtaken by the Enchantress' spell is of course forbidding, but in an elegant, haunting way. The grounds were beautifully visualized and the arches and pillars of the castle are covered in thick, climbing vines of stone as if it's being overtaken by the magic placed upon it. It also snows constantly, a fact that Maurice is ridiculed for telling the villagers since it’s June outside of the castle's boundaries. This is a nice distinction from the first film, in which there seems to be no definitive season; The weather is off and on snowing and all over the place.

In terms of the West Wing, there were a couple things I saw that I thought interesting. Firstly, it was odd that Beast's room was so far away that Belle had to walk completely outside of the main part of the castle to get to it, but it made sense that he'd want to seclude himself as much as possible. Secondly, Beast had made himself a place to sleep on the floor of torn up pillows and blankets. The fact that his bed went unused, until he got injured saving Belle from the wolves, helped emphasize that he saw himself as more of a beast than a man. Being angry and by himself all the time had definitely thrown him into a depressive state and his tucked-away living space showed that. The third thing was that Beast had slashed across his father's face significantly more than his own, but he left his mother's face untouched in his family portrait.

Throughout the film, we discover that Beast’s father is the one who spoiled him after his mother died. The excessive slashing of his father's face and the lack thereof his mother's was due to his previous relationships with them both and I thought it was a clever detail to add, especially since nothing is said or known about Beast's family from the 1991 film. This also helps viewers understand why Beast hates Belle's father, Maurice, so much and why he sympathizes with her about her mother, who we discover died of plague.

Also, the emphasis on the petals falling was a welcome addition. There was more of an obvious impact on the castle and objects because pieces of the structure would crumble and fall and the objects would become more antique and less human. It added a sense of urgency to their entire situation as well as more significance to the rose. It was much more intense and provided an understanding that the enchanted objects’ fate rested with something as fragile as a falling petal.

As for the characters, I must say I was pleased to see Emma Watson take on the role of Belle. Not merely due to the fact that she is an avid book reader herself, I believe she was very well suited for the part. There are many qualities about her that I admire more than any other actress and her active role in gender equality brought a new strength to Belle that was improved upon by the Live-Action aspect. Dan Stevens [Beast] and Kevin Kline [Maurice] encapsulated their characters very well and Luke Evans' portrayal of Gaston made him seem far more cruel, which made me both hate and love his character more. Also the irony of his response to LeFou’s line "je ne sais quoi" cracked me up. ("I don't know what that means.")

The pre-mention of an 'exclusively gay moment' put me en garde for the remake of one of my favorite Disney movies and all the extra hype about this reveal, in addition to the changes I read about beforehand, dampened my belief in a film true to it's original. However the Live-Action version not only held true, but improved upon the 1991 film by providing more backstory as well as filling some obvious plot holes. But merely the fact that a "distinctly" homosexual moment was being added to a classic animated film deterred my previous excitement. I thought of possible scenarios, comical or otherwise, of what this moment might be, but when it passed, I realized my reaction to the statement was quite overblown, which I dare to assume was the same of many others. This controversy has even led to the film being edited to avoid the inclusion of the "gay" moment, but I think it could be said that had it not been mentioned, whether for press or otherwise, viewers could have drawn their own conclusions about LeFou, played by Josh Gad, and it could have gone relatively unnoticed.

The entire Beauty and the Beast storyline in general was greatly enhanced by the Live Action aspect, but some instances were curious to say the least. I didn't mind so much the addition of Agatha, the beggar who ends up being the Enchantress, but it was odd to see her melancholy character show up periodically, especially during Beast’s Transformation. Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip were all lovely to see (yes, I cried when they all turned into antiques) and I liked the new character object of the harpsichord, Cadenza, and his relationship with Madame de Garderobe, who made fabulous Late Baroque dresses for Belle and a few of the intruding townsmen. Jacqueline Durran was the costume designer and I admit I paid more attention to the costumes the second time around, but they were one of the first things that caught my attention the first time watching the film. From Belle's almost tomboyishness to the elaborate ball gowns, I was thoroughly impressed by the detail and spectacle the costumes added to my experience of the film.

Belle's first outfit was probably my favorite. Her blue skirt is very noticeably tucked into her bloomers as if she dressed rather hastily, but her sturdy boots and the bloomers allow for more freedom of movement than most of the other village girls have when corseted, dressed fashionably, and rosily painted. But I also really liked this sort of jean jacket she wears. There are two versions of it and they both have a peplum piece attached around the bottom-back. The version I liked most was when she sings the Belle (Reprise) on the mountain hillside. The back part of it was white with blue stripes and the front of it was a floral pattern, almost as if Belle stitched scrap pieces together to make her clothes. She keeps a bag and towel on her waist handy, a nice touch for showing her hard-working, resourceful side.

I can't go on without mentioning Belle's famous yellow-gold ball gown. Watson worked closely with designer, Jacqueline Durran, to make the gorgeous, iconic dress(es) we see in the film. The dress looks very flat upon first glance, but when she spins, the entire bottom half flares out to reveal layers upon layers of lightweight yellow fabric. While it didn't seem as glamorous as it's animated counterpart, I admire the dress nonetheless and the gold-leaf branches along the bottom added a delicate touch to the dress.

I didn't mind Belle being the inventor as opposed to her dad from the 1991 film. I thought her idea of washing her clothes in a barrel was quite clever and then her trying to teach another little girl to read was perfect for showing how differently she thought and how the villagers saw her as odd. Also this helps her relate better with Beast later when he's telling her how whenever he enters a room, laughter dies. (So sad!) She tells him that the same happens with her too in the village and that they call her a "funny girl." It really connected them and showed the development of their relationship as they "run away" to "the Paris of [Belle's] childhood.”

The addition of the new songs blew me away; I was so glad Beast got his own song, Evermore, and him singing it as Belle rode away was heart-wrenching. The same could be said about How Does a Moment Last Forever and Days in the Sun, all three songs equally melancholy, but at the same time uplifting. Speaking of songs, I was disappointed that Emma Watson's pure singing voice was auto-tuned in certain places. It was absurdly noticeable and it took away any power of performance that she SHOULD have put into the song Belle. She just seemed a bit too calm in the grand opening number, as if she were just going through the motions. Luke Evan's and Josh Gad's Gaston on the other hand was bursting with new lyrics, hilarious chemistry, and an awesome dance break on table tops.

I missed hearing Human Again, even though it was not a song from the original film. But it is understandable the filmmakers avoided doing another song as elaborately performed by the household items as Be Our Guest, a song which made a lot of references to musical theatre productions. The giant musical number was originally choreographed with the intention of how it would look on a Broadway stage and, therefore, created with several theatrical productions in mind. It’s no wonder they continued to pay tribute to Broadway. While the Aria just seemed to be a special addition for singer Audra McDonald, it was a jovial selection for the Prologue and I was tickled to catch the Sound of Music reference during the Belle (Reprise) and Cogsworth’s Les Misérables line, “Man the barricades!”

All in all, this was worth seeing twice on an Imax screen. Although I believe I went nearly deaf the first time watching it, I loved every second of it. I'd rate the film a solid 89% on a "1-100" scale and I can't wait to watch it again and pick it apart for more details. (Again) Thanks to those of you who read all the way through!