From the moment you hear that opening line that says - Let us tell an old story anew and see how well you know it - you just feel that you are in for a real treat and believe me you will not be disappointed.
OK this is a pretty radical re-imagining of the story of Sleeping Beauty in that we come at it from the viewpoint of the supposedly wicked fairy. Maleficent is a spell-binding performance of raw acting power from Angelina Jolie who is especially threatening when casting the sleeping spell.
She had been betrayed by an avaricious human male whom she trusted and had feelings for. Like any woman scorned her anger was a terrible thing to invoke and the hapless betrayer soon realised what a huge mistake he had made when Maleficent condemned
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The doomed girl is called Aurora and three good fairies grant her three gifts as a baby that will make her into a truly lovable young woman.
Once the vengeful chief fairy has cursed her thechild is taken deep into the forest. In a remote cottage the three good fairies adopt human form to care for her until she reaches 16 years and one day but they are not good parents.
Maleficent oversees them quietly and over time grows to be enchanted herself by the guileless little girl who thinks the wicked queen to be her fairy godmother. You witness the gradual softening of the attitude in the evil fairy and one cannot help but side with her because she was so badly wronged. The movie shows us beautifully how much humanity lies within even the most hardened heart.
As the story progresses we are treated to ever more magical things alongside more surprises and twists to the story of the physically and emotionally crippled guardian angel. Her every unkind or downright cruel action springs directly from that initial betrayal by a human she loved and her power is such that wreaking havoc on humanity is easy for