Ballet Shoes is a movie about a London family struggling during the Great Depression. It centers around the three adopted girls who are growing up under these circumstances, the promises they make to one another, and the opportunities they get along the way.
It’s an adaptation of a 1936 novel which I haven’t read. Can’t say if it’s faithful or not. But I can say that it’s molasses. That is to say, slow and saccharine. And you know what? After the year we all just had (let’s include the first weeks of 2021 in that tally), slow and saccharine is pretty damn enjoyable.
The performances are fine. The characters are likeable. There are always things happening, which are very momentous for people within the story. But where the plot moves, it meanders: there isn’t really a singular driving focus. That doesn’t have to be a shortcoming though, since you’re meant to be more invested in the moment-to-moment dramatic state of the proceedings. I have to confess that it didn’t feel entirely earned, but at the end things eventually all just fall into place. Precipitously so. And well enough -- we can all use the sappy ending from time to time.
Altogether, I don’t think this film is very inspired, but it defrosted a layer of cynicism from my heart, if only momentarily. I hereby nonchalantly toss it in the “recommended” bin.
Plot: 3
Characters: 6
Themes: 5
Spectacle: 5
Overall score: Three out of three Fossils.
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