For my
money, the most important thing to do with the new live-action Beauty and the Beast is to acknowledge
that it’s not the original and then move
on. Even without getting into the
merits of the singing between the two casts (and the original remains the
champ, I’m not disputing that,) it’s always hard to hear a new rendition of
songs you’ve heard countless times.
Heck, it took several listens for me to get used to the cast recording
version of Hamilton’s opening number
having listened to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s solo of it at the White House copious times over the last seven
years. How much more indelible is the
original soundtrack for Beauty and the
Beast? No matter what, if you keep
the new film in the context of the original, it’s going to come up short, but if
you take a step back and allow it to be its own thing, you might like it quite
a bit.
As in the
original story, “most peculiar mademoiselle” Belle trades places with her
father as the prisoner of a gruff, entitled prince under a curse that turned
him into a beast. Unbeknownst to Belle,
the curse can only be broken by true love, and the Beast’s servants (transformed
by the curse into household objects) believe that Belle is their last hope for
the spell finally being broken. After
their fraught beginning, Belle and the Beast gradually start understanding one
another better, both realizing there may be more to the other than they had
previously thought.
While,
again, it’s hard to fiddle with such iconic songs and scenes, I think the new
cast acquits itself pretty well. Emma
Watson’s Belle has a less powerful voice, more contemplative, but she brings a
nice air to her numbers. And though she’s
not one of the stronger links for me musically, her acting is superb. Her Belle is sharply observant, independent,
forceful, and gently compassionate. The
other half of the equation, Dan Stevens (Jane Austen alum and formerly of Downton Abbey,) makes an excellent
Beast. The CGI might be iffy, but his
performance isn’t. I really enjoy his
prideful, snappish Beast who is still slightly immature and uses his
monstrosity to hide his pain and loneliness.
Stevens is also my singing MVP, at least for the actors that I’d not
heard sing before (he’s obviously not gonna compete with Audra McDonald.) His solo “Evermore,” one of several new
numbers Alan Menken composed for the film, is the standout of the whole film
for me – just gorgeous. For both
characters, I think the tweaks to the story make them even richer and more
engaging. The screenplay also helps
build a bit more slowly to the romance, showing how Belle and the Beast are
forming a friendship that could turn to love.
Luke
Evans as Gaston brings the buffoonery, swagger, and genuine menace in equal
turn, I like the minor arc given to Josh Gad (a.k.a. Olaf the snowman) as his
toady LeFou, and Kevin Kline is sweetly earnest as Belle’s father. As for the servants, Ewan McGregor’s
exuberant Lumiere, Sir Ian McKellen’s stuffy Cogsworth, and Emma Thompson’s motherly
Mrs. Potts are the most noteworthy, but the aforementioned Audra McDonald is
also featured, along with Stanley Tucci and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Everyone’s singing here is quite respectable. I think the staging can get a bit too busy on
some numbers – the titular “Beauty and the Beast” is lovely, but I feel like
there’s too much going on onscreen.
However, when the film finds the right balance between musical and
movie, as in “Gaston,” “Be Our Guest,” and “The Mob Song,” it can be pretty
great.
Warnings
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