For a Disney film primarily about love, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil tackles heavy-duty subjects like racism, environmental conservation, xenophobia and even genocide. In a particularly tear-jerking scene, beautiful, innocent fey folk are tricked and trapped and set to be murdered. It’s one of many horrific cruelties meted out by the film’s antagonist. But the overall effect is more jaw-dropping than reflective, when all things considered, Disney has never quite been so on the nose before with deathly serious issues. It’s very obviously a metaphor for the intolerant wave that’s consuming the world today with hatred and fear. Director Joachim Rønning’s heart was clearly in the right place. Unfortunately, when pulled in far too many socially conscious directions, Mistress of Evil crumbles under the pressure.
In 2014, Maleficent subverted the Sleeping Beauty trope of waking up to true love’s kiss, while reimagining the fairytale villain’s origin story. The sequel picks up five years later, when Maleficent’s (Angelina Jolie) ward Aurora (Elle Fanning) is queen of the Moors (fey land). She’s engaged to Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson) and their union will be a harbinger of peace between humans of the Kingdom of Ulstead and the fey. But Phillip’s mother Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer) has other sinister plans that border on psychotic. In response to a misinterpreted slight, Queen Ingrith is intent on destroying the fey population, harnessing the cruelest of means.
- Director: Joachim Rønning
- Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Ed Skrein, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, Michelle Pfeiffer
- Storyline: Aurora’s mother-in-law-to-be Queen Ingrith wants to destroy the Moors but Maleficent must save her fey kingdom
Though titular in character, Maleficent with her regal beauty and grace occupies the screen far too little than what was expected. A plotline involving the banishment of her kind is impactful enough but its inclusion in the bigger cinematic arc remains underwhelming. For all of Queen Ingrith’s ruthlessness, which Pfeiffer performs with aplomb, her comeuppance never quite satisfies. While the film’s crux is its mother-daughter relationship, Rønning’s focus scatters far and wide when it could have zeroed in on the one thing bound to touch anyone’s heart.
What Mistress of Evil lacks in cohesiveness, the director more than makes up with visual spectacle. The sheer extravagance of the beauty on screen, its scale and intricacy is enough to thrill. Especially, Maleficent’s dark fey brethren’s hideout — an iridescent nest-like cave that opens up to different topography from desert to icy snow-clad plains and verdant jungles. But it’s the heart-tugging adorability of Rønning’s fey creatures that will lure the audience, adult and child alike: from cute anthropomorphic mushrooms to fluffy dandelion seeds. A stand out is Pinto, a hedgehog-like creature with burbling pigeon speak and eyes that will drown anyone foolish to gaze into them. It’s also a nostalgic welcome to see returning faces on screen from Diaval the Raven (Sam Riley) to the three fairies Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton), Thistlewit (Juno Temple) and Flittle (Lesley Manville).
In most cases, sequels are best left unmade. Mistress of Evil might not win its case against the statement, but it’s a beautiful attempt nonetheless.
