Barrymore, a modern Cinderella in 'Ever After' reworking

JAKARTA (JP): The name Cinderella invokes images of a romantic fairy tale about a beautiful but passive woman who cannot stand up against her evil stepmother and stepsisters, until finally she is rescued by a handsome prince.

Over the years, the story has been refined and reworked, off and on screen, making it the most famous tale in the world.

Director Andy Tennant's Ever After: A Cinderella Story is the latest work inspired by the fairy tale. But unlike most of the original Disney version, the movie offers new twists and much more realistic touches.

Tennant, who wrote the screenplay along with Susannah Grant and Rick Parks, delivers his message -- to set the record straight -- at the very beginning of the movie at a time when two authors of children stories meet the Grand Dame (Jeanne Moreau) at her palace. The Grand Dame, who is disturb by the authors' version of Cinderella, tells them her own story.

From here the story is told in flashbacks, when an eight-year- old Danielle, daughter of a wealthy and widowed landowner in France, waits for her father to return home with his new bride, Baroness Rodmilla (Anjelica Houston) and her two daughters.

Fate then takes a twist. After only one day at home, her father suddenly dies of heart attack while riding a horse.

The storyline then picks up 10 years later, when Danielle (Drew Barrymore) has been banished to servant status, is dust- covered and sleeping near the fireplace just like in the fairy tale.

But Tennant, who also directed It Takes Two and Fools Rush In, insisted that physical beauty should not be everything to a woman.

His Ever After's Cinderella, Danielle, is not a weak and passive woman waiting for someone to take her away from her miserable life.

Instead, she is pictured as a woman with a brain. Danielle loves books, especially Sir Thomas More's Utopia, and possesses an intriguing mix of tomboyish athleticism and physical beauty.

Her first encounter with the crown prince of France, Henry (Dougray Scott), is not as romantic as expected: she knocks him off a horse with an apple after mistaking him for a thief.

And when Danielle poses as a royal lady to set her loyal servant free after being sold by Rodmilla to pay her taxes, it is her intelligence and More's arguments that help her obtain the man's freedom.

Danielle is not the kind of woman to wait around for the prince to rescue her. In many cases, she comes to the prince's aid, offering him guidance and even carrying him on her back to save his life from Gypsy robbers.

Contrary to the fairy tale, the spirited Cinderella in Ever After is certainly no victim of her evil stepmother and stepsisters either.

Cleverly, Danielle tricks Rodmilla by hiding all her late father's valuables to prevent her from selling them. She also slaps her eldest stepsister Marguerite (Megan Dodds) when she tries to take Danielle's late mother's gown and glass slippers.

Ever After also aspires to make one realize that magic comes from within, not from an imaginary fairy godmother. Danielle does receive help, but it comes not from some fairy godmother as in the fairy tale but from renowned artist Leonardo da Vinci (Patrick Godfrey), whose role creatively optimizes old and new ideas throughout the movie.

Although there is no magic pumpkin or helpful mice, Tennant still gives viewers a taste of the fairy tale.

Viewers can still relish passionate romance between the prince and Danielle, who pretends to be royalty in Henry's presence -- which he believes because of her qualities. Audiences do not miss out on other Cinderella trademarks, like when she arrives at the ball wearing those famous glass slippers.

After watching various versions of Cinderella, Ever After is an inspiring piece for its ability to blend fairy tale with modern circumstances. And the filmmakers' vivid creation of a bygone era is impressive.

Both actor-producer Drew Barrymore and Oscar winning actress Anjelica Huston deserve credit for their stunning performances, while Scott, who is now working on Mission: Impossible 2, is convincing as a full-blooded prince.

Barrymore, whose movie credits include Batman Forever, Everyone Says I Love You and Mad Love, continues to prove herself to be a performer of a wide range.

Amid the 16th century setting, she beautifully plays her role as a determined, self-sufficient and romantic Danielle, a heroine with a modern character.

And actor-director Huston, who won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in Prizzi's Honor, incarnates the evil power of the fairy tale with a cold and calculating nature. She effectively represents the classical villain without falling a victim to caricature.

But while the fairy tale has long been a children's story, Ever After is more for a young adult audience.

All in all, Tennant deserves credit for his insistence on giving the fairy tale a sense of logic without stripping it of all of its magical touches. For him, it appears there should be specific reasons for certain actions and choices. (ste)