I went to see 'Maleficent' a few weeks back, as I have a cineworld card, and I'm wanting to see a decent number of films. I think I've seen more so far than I did all year last year, and I enjoyed all of them. I would definitely see 'Maleficent' again, if I could persuade anyone to come with me.
It's a film about life and magic, but most of all about love. About romance, sure; but also about ambition, and proper parenting. That's love of power and love of children - or at least one child. That child being Aurora, otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty.
But it's not really about her, though she is a major character. It's about Maleficent, mainly (well, duh), and her experiences with love in many forms. It first displays itself as protecting, with everyone in her realm just caring for each other as a way of life. They act as if they honestly couldn't see any other way to live. And then the story starts. And a love of freedom, as most of them can fly - including Maleficent.
Things beging to happen, and things begin to change with the entrance of a human, a young boy; the first one she's ever seen. And she gets introduced to other forms of love, first friendship, then romance; which brings disappointment and heartbreak.
He gives her what he says is true love's kiss; but it was a lie. The boy got older, became a man, and the man had other loves. And, in the meantime, other people introduced yet more loves, in the form of love of wealth and power. The king of the land where the boy came from wanted Maleficent's land, and brought an army to take it.
Which introduced a love of battle - but the battle was short. The king was mortally wounded, and Maleficent won; but at a cost. She was betrayed, and lost her wings. The man the boy had become took her wings, and in return, became king, marrying the previous king's daughter.
And Maleficent changed. She stopped acting out of love, and started to rule by fear instead, locking away her realm with an impassable hedge of thorns. Well, almost. She could pass through, and did; turning up at the official presentation of the new king's daughter, Princess Aurora. Where she gave the new princess a gift, of sorts. Both a blessing and a curse combined. She promised that the princess would grow in beauty, being loved by all who met her; but that on her 16th birthday, she would prick her finger on the needle of a spindle and fall into a deathlike sleep. A sleep that could only be broken by true love's kiss - a curse which was, in her eyes, both entirely appropriate and unbreakable.
And so the new king did the best thing he could think of to try to avert catastrophe - he sent his daughter away in the care of three good, if somewhat incompetent, fairies until the day after her 16th birthday. You may doubt his love, but know that he never forgot his daughter.
And so Maleficent found herself in the unexpected position on looking after the child who she had no interest in, other than as a means to an end. She came to watch 'the little beastie', to see what happened, and found herself having to protect her more than once; though whether it was the blessing or the curse that inspired such, no-one will ever know.
And, deep in the heart of the forest, near the border of the two realms, tranquillity reigned. And peace grew in Maleficent's heart, as she came to be fond of 'the little beast'. And the two of them, princess and queen became something close to friends. But, then disaster struck, as the curse took hold; the truth was revealed, and Aurora ran from the only friend she'd ever known, back to the castle where her story began. A castle where all the spinning wheels in the kingdom had been collected and hidden away.
She arrived the day before her 16th birthday, and her father, who could see she was his daughter, tried to lock her away until it was safe; but the curse wouldn't be stopped. She went down to the dungeon, and pierced her finger, as she was cursed to do; and fell into a deathlike sleep. But there was hope. A prince from a nearby kingdom had met her a few days ago, and the fairies, Maleficent among them, wondered if he would be her true love. But, alas, it was not to be. He did indeed kiss her, but he didn't love her; and she didn't awake.
So Maleficent mourned. She vowed that not one day would pass without her trying to find a way to break the curse, and not one day would pass without her missing Aurora's sweet smile; and kissed her on the forehead. And Aurora awoke. The curse was broken by the one person who did love her, the one who had been around every day of her life, looking after her; true love indeed.
But the story doesn't end there. It continues with a dragon and danger, and flying and freedom, and a funeral; and it finishes with a celebration, a coronation to be precise. A princess became queen, and a queen abdicated; and the two realms became one. A happy ending if ever I heard one - and a story a bit different to the one you'll have heard, I've no doubt. A story about love, to be sure, but very little about romance.
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