Disney has done an admirable job of sugarcoating the sinister side of fairy tales for as long as they have been in business. But if you read the classics, you won’t be able to find talking animals or a song for most positives. Instead, you’ll come up against darker themes and outcomes. Such is the case with Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Stepsister.
One of the standout films of last year was undeniably Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance. Just as that picture took a Cronenbergian viewpoint to the hurdle of fading youth and celebrity, so too does Blichfeldt’s revisionist take on the story of Cinderella, combine fantasy and horror in a rich yet grotesque souffle that one marvels and recoils from in equal measure.
The central figure in this version of the classic focuses on Elvira (Lea Myren), not so much ugly, but the ordinary elder sister of Alma (Flo Fagerli). The pair and their mother, Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp) to a stately home as Rebekka has recently wed Otto (Ralph Carlsson), a seemingly wealthy man with a beautiful daughter named Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss), the film’s surrogate Cinderella.
But the newlyweds haven’t long to take in the splendor of their union as Otto dies without warning, leaving Agnes alone and confessing that her family has no money. Rebekka, bothered but unphased makes the best of the cards she has been dealt. Soon, a messenger arrives bearing news that the dashing Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) is hunting for a virginal bride and has proclaimed there shall be a ball at which he shall observe the fairest maidens of the land, choosing the one his heart desires most to be his wife.
“…the burden falls upon Elvira to win the heart of the prince…”
With Alma not being of age for selection, the burden falls upon Elvira to win the heart of the prince, as well as improve the family’s social and financial situation. Thus, the young woman is rendered fair and cultivated via a gauntlet of unspeakably torturous practices. Beauty may indeed only be skin deep, but the lengths to which Elvira must go in the moons leading up to the fateful night of the prince’s selection is monstrous. Forced into starvation and modification, all for the appearance of perfection, Elvira’s commitment to winning the heart of the man of dreams is severely tested. All the elements seem to work against her, along with Agnes, who Cinderella may be fair but far from innocent.
The Ugly Stepsister plays out much like The Substance with one very much feeling like a companion piece to the other. Blichfeldt’s direction and script is bold and daring, unflinching and surprising. It is made even more potent when accompanied by the rich visuals of Marcel Zyskind and the fabulous ad-fitting score by John Erik Kaada. All cut together brilliantly by Olivia Neergaard-Holm. While the ensemble cast are all exemplary is showing us the unflattering side of the characters, the Mouse House likes to shove of plastic lunch boxes. It is the fearless performance by Lea Myren that makes the whole thing work.
So, forget the fairy tale you thought you knew and strap in for a ride to the dark side as The Ugly Stepsister supplies laughter, loathing, and buckets of dirty water, hoping to wash away the bloodstains and pains needed to appear sensational at the ball. The pitiless and petrifying cover of the classic, minus the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.
"…the young woman is rendered fair and cultivated via a gauntlet of unspeakably torturous practices."
