Villain Therapy: CRUELLA

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright take a look at Cruella's backstory -- how she blamed herself for her mother's death, how she struggled to make her way in a creative profession, how she has to prove she's better than the baroness. She felt weak and powerless as Estella, but the persona of Cruella allowed her to exert her power and express her creativity, and often manifests itself as a state of hypomania. They also talk about the phenomenal performances from Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, the spectacular costumes, and how much fun it is to watch Cruella really lean into her villainy.

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, and Alan Seawright
Edited by: Sophie Téllez
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis
Spanish Transcription by: Juan Willems

[researcherchameleon]

Baroness: “who are you”
Cruella: “you killed my mother”
Baroness: “do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down”

[julianhirsch]

As a costume designer its nice to see movie makers and critics talk about and acknowledge how valuable costumes are. Thank you for contributing

[madeleinereads]

Cruella was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Costume Design. This film won the Oscar for Best Costume Design. Well-deserved! Jenny Beavan's costumes are incredible! Fun fact: Cruella has 47 outfits in this film. Holy cow.

[daisy]

Emma stone has literally mastered ‘subtle acting’ she can do so little with her face yet you can see every emotion she is feeling In the scene.

[trinaq]

Cruella is the epitome of the Villain Protagonist, since we follow her descent into villainy. A protagonist doesn't necessarily have to be likeable or heroic in nature, they just have to lead the story.

[hollyroosendaal]

I thought you were going to end on a different (mis-)quote:
“You killed my mother.”
“No, Estella. I am your mother.”

[agenttheater]

It was always sweet how she understanding she was to her adoptive (not biologically real but emotionally real) mother.
"It wasn't her I was challenging. It was the world. But of course my mother knew that. That's what worried her."
"Being a genius is one thing. Raising a genius however does come with its challenges.'

[bananaboatcharlie]

I adored the punk rock energy of this movie and this character! I know people make fun of it for being pro capitalism, but I loved her "burn it all down" vibe and ending up being anti establishment without being a puppy killer.

[gurglequeen]

I'm gonna disagree with Alan here. Cruella is very much the protagonist. This is HER story, she's the main character. She's a villain for sure, but she's still the protagonist. The baroness is the antagonist in her story. Two villains, one protagonist.

[infjelphabasupporter]

*Unpopular opinion:*
This film works so much better if you treat it like a reimagining (like Maleficent), instead of trying to force it into being a prequel.
Cruella's character is way too different; she's not the villain (in the end she does the right thing, and no puppies die), and the dognapping even happens in the film. It honestly seems like she hit a low throughout the movie but by the end she's recovered and grown into a better person.
Forcing it to be a prequel erases the entire point of the film, of her grappling with her identity after discovering her mother's narcissism and coming to an equilibrium by both accepting it in herself and controlling it in order to keep her adoptive family.

[sassylittleprophet]

"If you struggle with mental illness, you are 10 times more likely to be a victim of violence than a perpetrator."
Wow. Thank you, I needed to hear that.
😭😭😭😭

[Firsona]

The way she blames herself as a child resonates with me. As a child, I had accepted I wasn't perfect quite readily. But it took me much, much longer to realize that other people weren't perfect. From there I realized my parents were people too instead of these titan like figures that had control over everything. A hard realization, but the beginning of building real trust.

[gabrielleduplessis]

I also like how they give Horace and Jasper minds of their own instead of treating them like comic relief.
They don’t like how they are treated by Cruella and stand up for themselves.

I like how they stick by her out of loyalty and sense of obligation.

[trinaq]

Despite Cruella and her mother Catherine not being biologically related, Cruella still thinks of her fondly, since she loved and raised her, with Catherine's death being a key catalyst into her villainous descent. This is compared to the narcissistic Baroness, who tried to kill her own daughter the second she was born.

[thetherrannative]

I've got bipolar. Before I was medicated, I had very infrequent manic phases and they only lasted about a week each. Lemme tell you, man. That feeling was ADDICTING. I felt like I was on top of the world, my creative game was up, I could go and go and never need to rest. The stories I was working on got so fleshed-out and ended up being some of the best work I had done. And I remember exactly nothing else from that time. It was like a drug. That creative drive was my entire existence from the moment the manic phase started to the moment it ended. So I can empathize with Cruella in that respect (though I was never mean to the people around me while that was happening, because I isolated myself from the world in those periods). That creative high really does take you over, and you do not want it to stop.

[jimmoriarty]

The phrase, "love me into shape, " about broke me when I watched this movie. Coming from an abusive upbringing, I try to be very conscious of how I parent my child and parenting includes proper discipline. Growing up, 'disciple' was physical or emotional abuse of one form or another. Refusing to pass that on those behaviors, but knowing I need to provide proper structure is daunting. Loving my child into shape is a great way to phrase it.

[freshwaterlife]

I love how it’s like, “and she killed my other mother, ” *Alan grabs popcorn.*

[seoulnessie]

Just because she is a villain, doesn't mean she isn't a protagonist.

[GarnetHeartIllustrations]

The guy that plays Horace embodied the animated version so well. Like the way his mouth moves when he talks, his body language. Just amazing to watch

[tiffanypersaud]

This film was SO cathartic for me to watch.

In a way, with Estella/Cruelle, this is what Neurodivergent people feel like when we try to mask all the time in order to “fit in”... “try as we might” while the world calls us “a little bit mad.”

When Estella/Cruella started accepting that she was different, I cried. Because when we do, it gives us so much power in acceptance, in just being, at any stage in our lives.