Cruella (2021)
Film details
Comedy · Crime · Craig Gillespie · 2h 14min
Synopsis
In 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, a young grifter named Estella is determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.
Verdict
Estella seeks justice in a corrupt world, but celebrates rebellion without roots or full redemption.
In-depth analysis
Cruella operates on the moral and philosophical plane, exploring free will and responsibility in the face of evil. Estella, a charismatic orphan, journeys from marginalization to revenge against the Baroness, a figure of abusive authority who embodies oppressive authoritarianism, not legitimate authority. The film acutely criticizes classism and exploitation in the 70s punk fashion elite, using the countercultural context to question the established order. However, the protagonist's arc prioritizes individual liberation over affiliation or community restoration, presenting rebellion as catharsis without a clear ethical counterweight. There is no redemptive grace or transcendence; the conflict is resolved in an ambiguous triumph where the end justifies the means. Visually exuberant, with designs that celebrate aesthetic wonder, it avoids deconstructing human anthropology, but shrinks heroism to reactive victimhood. Absent of ideological contraband, it invites us to discern whether the 'Casa Tomada' taken over by corruption is recovered with cunning or only occupied with new chaos. For mature teenagers, it stimulates debate about natural law and the cardinal virtue of justice, without poisoning the soul, although it creates tension due to its moderate crudeness in chases and confrontations. A story that, with common sense, reveals how resentment without the cardinal virtue of temperance perverts the creative gift.