Ever After

Ever After
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andy Tennant
Screenplay by	Susannah Grant Andy Tennant Rick Parks
Based on	Cinderella by Charles Perrault
Produced by	Mireille Soria Tracey Trench
Starring	Drew Barrymore Anjelica Huston Dougray Scott Jeanne Moreau
Cinematography	Andrew Dunn
Edited by	Roger Bondelli
Music by	George Fenton
Production company	Fox Family Films[1]
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	July 31, 1998 (1998-07-31)
Running time	121 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$26 million[3]
Box office	$98 million[3]

Ever After (known in promotional material as Ever After: A Cinderella Story) is a 1998 American romantic drama film inspired by the Cinderella fairy tale. Andy Tennant directed it, and it stars Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Dougray Scott, and Jeanne Moreau. Tennant, Susannah Grant, and Rick Parks wrote the screenplay. George Fenton composed the original music score. The film's closing theme song, "Put Your Arms Around Me", is performed by the rock band Texas.

The film removes the Cinderella tale's usual pantomime and comic/supernatural elements and instead treats the story as historical fiction, set in Renaissance-era France. It's often seen as a modern, post-feminist interpretation of the Cinderella story.^[4]

Plot[]

The Leonardo da Vinci portrait Head of a Woman (c. 1508) is portrayed in the film as a depiction of Danielle

In 18th century France, the Brothers Grimm answer a summons from the Grand Dame at which she expresses her disappointment in their fantastic story of Cinderella. She produces a glass slipper and recounts Cinderella’s actual story: in Renaissance-era France, eight-year old Danielle is the daughter of widower Auguste DeBarbarac. Auguste marries Baroness Rodmilla DeGhent, becoming stepfather to Rodmilla’s two daughters, Marguerite and Jacqueline. A fortnight later, Auguste dies of a heart attack.

Ten years later, the manor is in debt and Danielle works as a servant due to Rodmilla’s spoiling her daughters and paying a royal servant for gossip to help Marguerite marry Prince Henry. One morning, Danielle inadvertently meets Prince Henry as he tries to run away from his royal responsibilities, including an arranged marriage to the Princess of Spain. He gives Danielle some gold coins to keep their interlude secret and rides away, but is eventually caught by the Royal Guard after stopping a band of gypsies from robbing Leonardo DaVinci, who the King invited to be the French Court's artist in residence. Meanwhile, Danielle, dressed as a courtier, takes the gold coins to the palace to buy back a family servant who Rodmilla sold. Henry witnesses Danielle arguing with a slave holder and, after Danielle’s convincing, orders the servant released. Henry, captivated by her intelligence, eagerly asks for her name. Danielle lies and gives her mother’s name, Comtesse Nicole DeLancret.

That night, the King strikes a deal with Henry: he will hold a masquerade ball at which Henry will announce his engagement to the woman of his choosing or else marry the Princess of Spain. Rodmilla accelerates her efforts at getting Henry to notice Marguerite, leaving Jacqueline resentful.

While visiting a Franciscan monastery, Danielle confides in Henry about gaining a love of books from her late father and he admits that he envies her passion and strong convictions. On their way home, the gypsies accost them, but, amused at Danielle’s cleverness, eventually agree to take them to their camp, where Henry and Danielle share their first kiss.

The next day, Danielle attacks Marguerite for planning to wear Danielle’s mother’s wedding dress to the ball and Marguerite retaliates by destroying Danielle’s copy of Utopia, the last book Auguste gave her before he died. After Rodmilla has Danielle whipped, Jacqueline treats her wounds and criticizes Marguerite for her cruelty.

A despondent Danielle tries to tell Henry the truth, but her resolve melts when he tells her she has changed him as a man, inspiring him to build a university. They kiss passionately, but Danielle runs away.

Rodmilla figures out that Danielle is Henry’s love interest and lies to the Queen that she is engaged. She confronts Danielle about her deception and the whereabouts of her mother’s dress and shoes, which Danielle has hidden. When she angrily refuses to produce the gown and shoes, Rodmilla locks her in the house’s pantry. Danielle escapes with DaVinci’s help and arrives at the ball just before Henry’s engagement to another unnamed woman is announced. Before she can tell the truth, Rodmilla exposes Danielle and, furious at her dishonesty, Henry rejects her. As Danielle tearfully runs out of the castle, she leaves a glass slipper behind. DaVinci finds it and gives it to Henry.

Henry agrees to marry the Princess of Spain, but calls it off when he realizes she too loves someone else. Jacqueline tells Henry that Rodmilla had Danielle sold to the lecherous Pierre LePieu and he and the Palace Guard set off to rescue her, only to find that she has rescued herself. Henry professes his love for her and proposes marriage by slipping the glass slipper on her foot. Danielle accepts.

When the Queen discovers Rodmilla lied to her about Danielle, she has Rodmilla and Marguerite banished to the Americas, but Danielle, now Henry’s wife, intervenes and has Rodmilla and Marguerite made servants in the palace laundry.

As a wedding present, Leonardo gives the royal newlyweds a portrait of Danielle, the same portrait, the Grande Dame tells the Brothers Grimm, which hung in Henry’s university until the French Revolution. She concludes that while Henry and Danielle did live happily ever after, the point is that they lived.

Historical context[]

While the story is fictional, it involves several historical figures, places and events. The film is set in the 16th and 19th centuries and features Francis I, King Henry (later Henry II of France), Leonardo da Vinci, The Brothers Grimm, as well as allusions to the explorer Jacques Cartier, fairy tale collector Charles Perrault, the French colonies in the New World, and the French Revolution.^[5]

Though the main portion of the film takes place in early 1500s France,^[6] the royals shown are most likely not meant to be the historical figures for which they are named. King Francis I summoned Leonardo da Vinci to his court around 1516, 3 years before King Henry II was born; neither of King Francis I's wives were named Marie (the first was named Claude and the second Eleanor). King Henry II was married to Catherine de' Medici at the age of 14, and had no known children with Diane de Poitiers, a French noblewoman of great influence and the historical figure most likely represented by Danielle.

Main cast[]

• Drew Barrymore as Danielle de Barbarac
• Dougray Scott as Crown Prince Henry
• Anjelica Huston as Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent
• Megan Dodds as Marguerite de Ghent
• Melanie Lynskey as Jacqueline de Ghent
• Patrick Godfrey as Leonardo da Vinci
• Lee Ingleby as Gustave
• Richard O'Brien as Monsieur Pierre Le Pieu
• Timothy West as King Francis
• Judy Parfitt as Queen Marie
• Jeroen Krabbé as Auguste de Barbarac
• Jeanne Moreau as Grande Dame
• Peter Gunn as Captain Laurent
• Toby Jones as Royal Page

Production[]

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Ever After was filmed in Super 35.

Locations and sets[]

The castle shown in the film is the Château de Hautefort in the Dordogne region of France. Other featured châteaux are de Fénelon, de Losse, de Lanquais, de Beynac as well as the city of Sarlat-la-Canéda. The painting of Danielle is based on Leonardo Da Vinci's Head of a Woman (La Scapigliata).

Reception[]

Rotten Tomatoes reports that 91% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 65 reviews, with an average score of 7.56/10.^[7] The critical consensus states: "Ever After is a sweet, frothy twist on the ancient fable, led by a solid turn from star Barrymore."^[7] Metacritic calculated a favorable score of 66 based on 22 reviews.^[8]

Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B-, saying: "Against many odds, Ever After comes up with a good one. This novel variation is still set in the once-upon-a-time 16th century, but it features an active, 1990s-style heroine—she argues about economic theory and civil rights with her royal suitor—rather than a passive, exploited hearth sweeper who warbles 'A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes'."^[9] She also praised Anjelica Huston's performance as a cruel stepmother: "Huston does a lot of eye narrowing and eyebrow raising while toddling around in an extraordinary selection of extreme headgear, accompanied by her two less-than-self-actualized daughters—the snooty, social-climbing, nasty Marguerite, and the dim, lumpy, secretly nice Jacqueline. "Nothing is final until you're dead", Mama instructs her girls at the dinner table, "and even then I'm sure God negotiates."^[9]

Chicago Sun-Times film critic, Roger Ebert, praises the film with three out of four stars and writes, "The movie [...] is one of surprises, not least that the old tale still has life and passion in it. I went to the screening expecting some sort of soppy children's picture and found myself in a costume romance with some of the same energy and zest as The Mask of Zorro. And I was reminded again that Drew Barrymore can hold the screen and involve us in her characters. [...] Here, as the little cinder girl, she is able to at last put aside her bedraggled losers and flower as a fresh young beauty, and she brings poignancy and fire to the role."^[10]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

• 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated^[11]

Home media[]

On March 3, 1999, the film was released on DVD & VHS.^[7] On January 4, 2011, the film was released on Blu-ray.^[12] Ever After became available for streaming on Disney+ beginning September 18, 2020,^[13] following The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019.^[14]

Musical adaptation[]

A report in 2012 indicated that a musical theatre production was in the works, with the book and lyrics by Marcy Heisler and music by Zina Goldrich.^[15] The musical was originally scheduled for its world premiere in April 2009 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, but the pre-Broadway run was postponed.^[16] In May 2012, the project was back on track with Kathleen Marshall signing on to direct a Broadway run.^[17][18]

A workshop of the musical was held from April 25, 2013 – May 15, 2013 with Sierra Boggess as Danielle, Jeremy Jordan as Prince Henry, and Ashley Spencer as Marguerite.^[19] The musical made its world premiere at the Paper Mill Playhouse from May 21, 2015 – June 21, 2015.^[20] Christine Ebersole played the role of Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent.^[21] Alongside Ebersole, Margo Seibert starred as Danielle, James Snyder as Henry, Charles Shaughnessy as King Francis, and Tony Sheldon as Leonardo da Vinci.^[22] Another production of the musical played at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre from January 15, 2019 to February 19.^[23] The production was directed by Susan V. Booth and starred Sierra Boggess as Danielle de Barbarac, Terry Burrell as Queen Marie, Todd Buonopane as Captain Laurent, David Garrison as Leonardo da Vinci, Chris Kayser as King Francis, Jeff McCarthy as Pierre Malette, Tim Rogan as Prince Henry and Rachel York as Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent.^{[24][25] [26]}

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Ever After

• Ever After at IMDb
• Ever After at Box Office Mojo
• Ever After at Rotten Tomatoes
• Ever After at Metacritic