Ever After


Ever After is a 1998 American romantic period drama film directed by Andy Tennant from his own screenplay, co-written by Susannah Grant and Rick Parks. Co-produced by Fox Family Films and Mireille Soria Production, the film is inspired by Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale Cinderella and stars Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston, with Dougray Scott and Jeanne Moreau in supporting roles.
The film removes the pantomime and supernatural elements commonly found in retellings of the Cinderella tale and instead treats the story as historical fiction, setting it in Renaissance-era France.
Ever After released in theaters on July 31, 1998, to positive reviews from critics. It was a box-office success, grossing $98 million.

Plot

are invited to meet with the Grande Dame, who expresses her disappointment in their version of Cinderella. She produces a glass slipper and portrait of its former owner before recounting the true story that partially inspired the tale.
During the French Renaissance, ten years after Auguste de Barbarac dies, his daughter, Danielle, has been forced to become a servant to her stepmother, the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent, and stepsisters, Marguerite and Jacqueline. At first mistaking him for a thief, Danielle has an unexpected confrontation with Prince Henry as he is attempting to flee in order to avoid an arranged marriage to Princess Gabriella of Spain. Henry gives Danielle 20 francs to keep their interlude secret. He is eventually caught by the Royal Guard after stopping bandits from robbing Leonardo da Vinci, whom King Francis has invited to the Royal court.
Danielle disguises herself as a noblewoman and uses Henry's bribe to go to the palace to buy back her friend Maurice, whom Rodmilla plans to ship to the Americas. Henry witnesses her arguing with the jailer and impressed by Danielle's passion and intelligence, orders the jailer to release Maurice. When he asks for her name, Danielle gives her late mother's name, Countess Nicole de Lancret. King Francis agrees to hold a masquerade ball at which Henry will announce his engagement to the woman of his choosing at midnight, or else King Francis will announce his marriage to Gabriella. Rodmilla accelerates her efforts at getting Henry to notice Marguerite, while being neglectful to Jacqueline. Meanwhile, Danielle begins secretly spending time with Henry. After an outing at the library of the Franciscan monks, a gang of gypsies ambushes them, but they offer to help them when Danielle bids the leader and attempts to carry Henry away. At the gypsy camp, they share their first kiss.
Rodmilla and Marguerite plan to steal Nicole's wedding gown and glass slippers for Marguerite to wear at the ball. When Marguerite insults Nicole, Danielle attacks and chases her. Marguerite retaliates by burning the copy of Utopia that Auguste had given to Danielle. Jacqueline shows sympathy towards Danielle and criticizes Marguerite for her cruelty.
Queen Marie holds a luncheon with Marguerite and Rodmilla, during which the two deduce that Danielle is Countess de Lancret. Danielle meets Henry, who reveals that she has inspired him to build a university. Unable to reveal the truth about her identity, she flees. Rodmilla confronts Danielle about her deception and locks her in the pantry when she does not reveal the whereabouts of the slippers and dress. Gustave does Maurice a favor by going to the ball to recruit Leonardo to help Danielle escape. Leonardo, Gustave, Paulette and Louise prepare Danielle in Nicole's attire which they kept hidden prior. Danielle arrives determined to tell Henry the truth, but Rodmilla exposes her. Furious, Henry rejects Danielle, causing her to tearfully flee while Leonardo witnesses her lose a slipper. Leonardo reproaches Henry for his callousness and leaves him the slipper.
Henry agrees to marry Gabriella. During the ceremony, however, realizing that she also loves someone else who's in attendance, he calls off the wedding and seeks out Danielle until Maurice and Jacqueline inform him that Rodmilla sold her to Pierre Le Pieu following the ball. Henry and Laurent set off to rescue Danielle, only to find that she has freed herself. Henry professes his love for her, and proposes marriage by fitting the slipper onto her foot. Danielle happily accepts.
The royal court summons Rodmilla, Marguerite and Jacqueline. As punishment for lying to Marie about Danielle, Rodmilla is stripped of her title and threatened with exile to the Americas alongside Marguerite unless someone speaks for her. Danielle appears and instead asks that Rodmilla be shown the same "courtesy" she had shown her. Rodmilla and Marguerite are reduced to servants in the palace laundry.
Danielle and Henry built a university until it was presumably destroyed during the French Revolution except for Danielle's portrait Leonardo painted. The Grande Dame emphasizes that while her great-great-grandparents did live happily ever after, the point is that they lived.

Cast

  • Drew Barrymore as Danielle de Barbarac, the only child of Nicole de Lancret and Auguste de Barbarac. Barrymore described her character as a "tough Cinderella. She dives into bees' hives for the wax, takes pigs out truffle-hunting, swims in the river, quotes Sir Thomas More's Utopia. She even nails the prince with an apple for stealing her horse. She does many things a man does, whether it involves physical strength or reading. She's ahead of her time in breaking down the barriers between a woman's place in society and a man's place."
  • *Anna Maguire as Young Danielle
  • Anjelica Huston as Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent, Danielle's cruel stepmother.
  • Dougray Scott as Henry, Prince of France, Danielle's love interest and son of Marie and Francis
  • Patrick Godfrey as Leonardo da Vinci, an artist, inventor and a member of the royal court
  • Megan Dodds as Marguerite de Ghent, Danielle's "evil" stepsister
  • * Elizabeth Earl as Young Marguerite
  • Melanie Lynskey as Jacqueline de Ghent, Danielle's "nice" stepsister
  • * Alex Pooley as Young Jacqueline
  • Judy Parfitt as Marie, Queen of France and Henry's mother
  • Timothy West as Francis, King of France and Henry's father
  • Jeroen Krabbé as Auguste de Barbarac, Danielle's father
  • Lee Ingleby as Gustave, Danielle's best friend and an apprentice painter
  • * Ricki Cuttell as Young Gustave
  • Kate Lansbury as Paulette, a servant to the de Barbaracs
  • Matyelok Gibbs as Louise, Maurice's wife and a servant to the de Barbaracs
  • Walter Sparrow as Maurice, Louise's husband and a servant to the de Barbaracs
  • Jeanne Moreau as Grande Dame, Danielle and Henry's great-great-granddaughter
  • Richard O'Brien as Monsieur Pierre Le Pieu, a lecherous merchant
  • Peter Gunn as Laurent, Royal Guard captain
  • Joerg Stadler as Wilhelm Grimm, author and Jacob's brother
  • Andrew Henderson as Jacob Grimm, author and Wilhem's brother
  • Toby Jones as a Royal Page
Patrick Godfrey's wife Amanda Walker appears as an old noblewoman.

Production

Ever After was filmed in Super 35.

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, Prince Henry, Leonardo da Vinci, The Brothers Grimm, as well as allusions to the explorer Jacques Cartier, the fairy tale collector Charles Perrault, the French colonies in the New World, and the French Revolution.
Though the main portion of the film takes place in early 1500s France, 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, three years before King Henry II was born; neither of King Francis I's wives was named Marie. King Henry II was married to Catherine de' Medici at the age of 14.

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 and the Château de la Roussie, that served as the house of the de Barbaracs, as well as the city of Sarlat-la-Canéda. The painting of Danielle is based on Leonardo da Vinci's Head of a Woman.

Release

Home media

On March 2, 1999, the film was released on VHS & DVD.
On April 11, 2003, the film was released on DVD with the movie Never Been Kissed—another film starring Drew Barrymore—in a combo pack. On May 26, 2006, the film was released in The Drew Barrymore Collection Celebrity Pack, which also contained DVDs of Never Been Kissed and Fever Pitch. On March 2, 2010, the film was released in a DVD combo pack with the movie An Affair to Remember—a double feature celebrating 20th Century Fox's 75th anniversary; two months later, the film was then released in a DVD combo pack on May 4, 2010, with the movies Anna and the King and Australia—a triple feature celebrating the same thing.
On January 4, 2011, the film was released on Blu-ray. On September 4, 2012, it was released with the movie Never Been Kissed in a combo pack on Blu-ray. On October 7, 2014, the film was released in a 4 Drew Barrymore Favorites DVD set with Never Been Kissed, Fever Pitch, and Whip It.
On January 6, 2015, the film was released in a Blu-ray / Digital HD combo pack, region-free. The film was also released on Blu-ray in the UK on August 6, 2018. Then, on January 1, 2019, the film was again released in a Blu-ray / Digital HD combo pack but for Region A.

Reception

Critical response

Ever After received positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film had approval rating based on reviews, with an average rating of. According to its consensus, "Ever After is a sweet, frothy twist on the ancient fable, led by a solid turn from star Barrymore." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an "A" grade on a scale of A+ to F.
Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three out of four stars and wrote: "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." He particularly praised the cinematography, costume design, and Drew Barrymore's acting. In his review for San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle called Ever After "the best Cinderella movie ever," complimenting both the character writing and the performances of Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, and Dougray Scott. Leonard Klady of Variety gave a positive review, stating that the film "successfully maintains the story's period trappings while introducing a heroine with modern resonance… One can quibble only about a languorous style and a tendency to overplay the villainy of the stepmother and her eldest daughter. But these are small glitches in an otherwise first-rate effort." Robin Grant wrote for The Lantern that although Ever After "is worth seeing just for the scenery, the updated storyline and good acting make it an excellent movie for young and old alike."
In her review for The Austin Chronicle, Marjorie Baumgarten gave the film three out of five stars, stating that Ever After "turns out to be a potent and imaginative retelling that proves Cinderella's timelessness defies carbon-dating." Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly awarded the film a "B−" and described it as "unwieldy, uneven, but nevertheless unexpectedly witty, girl-positive production," while praising the character writing, costume design, and performances by Barrymore, Huston, and Judy Parfitt. Ian Nathan of Empire gave the film three out of five stars, complimenting the cinematography and acting of Huston and Scott, but criticizing the script and Barrymore's performance, which he found unconvincing and "far from her best."
A Time Out reviewer wrote that Barrymore "manages just fine in carrying this Cinderella update… Given that this is adolescent romance, never straying far from traditional stereotypes, its 'progressive' feel-good aura is mainly down to Barrymore, whose limitations are only exposed in big love scenes." Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times highlighted Barrymore and Huston's performances, but was displeased with the script and the "inconsistent" tone of the film, concluding that "though it has its moments, Ever After never completely finds its footing, either in its century or our own." In his review for The New York Times, Stephen Holden called the film a "bland, sappy costume comedy," criticizing its script and George Fenton's musical score; however, he praised Barrymore's "buoyant, unaffected" acting, which he considered the best thing about the film.