When you look at the flat narrative of the new Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson, one thing is pretty sure that the targeted audience is the younger lot. The straight forward narrative with the musical treatment along with a gorgeous female lead makes this remake of the 1991 Disney movie of the same title enjoyable.
The story of the film is familiar to most of us. An arrogant prince who refused to give shelter to an old lady was cursed to become a beast. The only way for the prince to become normal again was to fall in love and also earn love from someone. How the entry of a girl named Belle in to the life of the beast becomes a reason for it is what Beauty and the Beast trying to depict.
Like I said, the intention is mainly to satisfy kids who are in the mood to enjoy the visual narration of a fairy tale. A good chunk of the narrative has this musical treatment which in a way adds a refreshing feel to the take. The musical part and the overall narrative have that tint of less dramatic humour. You can’t really blame a film like this for not being unpredictable as the intention is to give a visual depiction to something that is famous. With grand production design along with quality visual effects, Disney achieves that part.
The main reason why most of the people in their mid 20’s who have grown up watching the harry potter movies waited for the film is to see their childhood crush on screen as the Beauty. Emma Watson looks gorgeous as Belle and the actress carries the role beautifully. Dan Stevens has portrayed the role of the beast and I am guessing most of his performance was captured using the motion capture technology. Luke Evans reprises the role of the rude Gaston and it was interesting to see him as an eccentric character.
Bill Condon approaches the story in a semi musical way in a screenplay rewritten by Stephen Chbosky. That decision helps the movie in being lively as the narrative definitely needed some excitement. Kids being a targeted audience, the experimentation with timeline were never really an option. But as I said earlier, they have this gorgeous leading lady to cover up for all the limitations in terms of making the content look appealing. As always Disney hasn’t compromised on the visual appeal of the film. There is controversy about the film as it has portrayed the character LeFou as gay and I personally felt it as a progressive step as LeFou was a character who showed some kind of compassion.
The overall nature of Beauty and the Beast is quite juvenile. But with enough visual grandeur, musical feel and of course a beautiful Emma Watson you won’t regret watching it.
Rating: 3/5
With enough visual grandeur, musical feel and of course a beautiful Emma Watson you won’t regret watching Beauty and the Beast.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
