Cruella is full of style and a pretty good time. Emma Stone does great in the titular role, and her presence really ups the enjoyment. Starting off with the good: the production design, costuming, hair, and makeup are so great in this film. Emma Stone gets to rock a ton of different hairstyles, and the period-piece aspect gives opportunities for the costuming team to really show off. The architecture is beautiful, and it does a great job of transporting you to this period in London. I definitely anticipate this film to get some love at the Oscars in those categories. The film is also very colorful and vibrant at times, which was fun. The first act was a bit slow but after about 45 minutes it starts to pick up nicely.
Where the film faltered for me was definitely the script. It's not a bad script by any means, but it definitely could have been polished up. Some of the villain's motives are completely nonexistent, and the screenplay makes no attempt to try to explain them to the audience. It was a bit jarring because I thought it would get cleared up in the third act, but they just gloss right over it. The film also doesn't pack any big emotional punch, which isn't a bad thing or even necessary - it just holds it back from being anything great. The film has a good use of licensed music that adds a lot of style to the film, in a similar vein to Joker. However, this did lead me to be a bit underwhelmed by Nicolas Britell's original compositions, which left little to be remembered.
Cruella honestly surprised me, and I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's not changing cinema, but it's fun, stylish, and great time back at the theater. Definitely one of Disney's better live-actions, and I definitely recommend seeing in a theater if you can!
