Disney’s classic 1959 animated feature ‘Sleeping Beauty’ gets rewritten in ‘Maleficent’ starring Angelina Jolie. In the original version, Princess Aurora was cursed by the evil sorceress Maleficent (she even has devil’s horns in case you’re not convinced of her pure evilness) because the latter was not invited by her father, the 'benevolent' King Stefan, to her christening. Aurora then fell into a deep coma after pricking her finger with a spindle on her 16th birthday from which she cannot awaken unless she’s kissed by her true love Prince Phillip. The Malevolent Maleficent did everything she could to stand between them, even transforming herself into a fire-breathing dragon to prevent Phillip from kissing his beloved Aurora. Needless to say, the story had a happy ending but it has now been exposed to be a lie.
Darkly enchanting and deliciously imaginative, ‘Maleficent’ tells the story of what really transpired in ‘Sleeping Beauty.’ It is a sweet and touching story about the friendship between an innocent young forest fairy and a poor peasant boy named Stefan which later turned tragically into one of betrayal and redemption. In ‘Maleficent’ we come to see that she’s not the evil witch we’ve been led to believe all along. Rather, Maleficent is a fascinating, complex and sympathetic fairy who became the victim in the story and whose actions and motivations were in fact good.
Purists may balk at such blatant revisionism of their beloved classic, but ‘Maleficent’ works in large part due to the ageless Angelina Jolie, who imparted her character with so much charisma, humanity and emotional depth that it is all but impossible not to root for her. With her perfectly chiseled cheekbones, jade green eyes and luscious red lips, ‘Maleficent’ possesses an exotic beauty, grace and presence that can only be described as mesmerizing. 'Maleficent' is a welcome retelling of a familiar tale that's gone rather stale with age.
Grade: B+
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