Synopsis:
Elvira dreams of the weak-kneed virgin, Prince Julian, and is willing to go to great lengths to conform to the kingdom's ideals of beauty. A surprising and raw twist on the fairy tale `Cinderella', seen from her stepsister's point of view.
My thoughts:
I have been waiting for this body horror gem. It takes a dark Scandinavian soul to revamp the Cinderella story in such a twisted, delicious manner. It's not the first time the story is retold, but it's the first time it's told from the point of view of one of the "ugly" stepsisters. I am delighted to see so many unapologetic, uncompromising female European directors send their visions forth. After watching Coralie Fargeat's The Substance (2024), I was smacking my lips in anticipation of Emilie Blichfeldt's "The Ugly Stepsister" . Only women understand the depth of self-hatred that leads us to desperate self-mutilation. Only women understand our love-hate relationship with our bodies, our female relatives and perceived rivals. All this mess concoction is flesh out in "The Ugly Stepsister". Of course, the actress who plays the titular character Elvira is a model in real life. Lea Myren is traditionally attractive, and it took a few special effect makeup tricks to make her face appear puffy and asymmetrical. Elvira is only ugly in the eyes of her greedy, ambitious mother Rebekka, who is panicking over her own esthetic decline. Rebekka is not a source of evil by herself. She is yet another casualty of a very unhealthy value system. There are plenty of female characters who support this system, including the women who run the finish school for girls, the nurses who assist with grisly cosmetic surgeries. Agnes, the Cinderella figure, meekly accepts the prospect of marrying a man she does not love to advance her social standing. She is willing to relinquish her stable boy lover for the chance to marry Prince Julian. Even though both of her parents are dead, and nobody is really pressuring her into marrying the prince. It's the pressure Agnes puts on herself. The only sane, levelheaded female character in the story is Elvira's prepubescent sister Alma, who is not on the dating market yet. In the end, Alma proves to be the last thread to redemption, as she pulls her mutilated older sister out of the nightmare. All in all, this movie is NOT a feel-gooder with a happy ending. It will make you evaluate your relationship with your body and your alliances.
