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"Ever After: A Cinderella Story" (1998) stars Drew Barrymore as Danielle, the daughter of a wealthy commoner in 16th century France. When her father unexpectedly dies, Danielle becomes the servant girl of her arrogant stepmother (Angelica Huston). When she runs into the prince of the kingdom (Dougray Scott), he becomes captivated by her honesty, humility, wisdom and beauty. Meanwhile, her stepmother schemes to have her shallow daughter (Megan Dodds) marry the prince. Melanie Lynskey plays the younger stepsister while Patrick Godfrey plays Leonardo Da Vinci and Lee Ingleby plays Danielle's guy-friend from her youth.

This is a quality costume dramedy/romance. Shot entirely in France at no less than four châteaus (castles), as well as some sweet wilderness areas, the film is awe-inspiring just to look at. The story is a little convoluted, so you have to pay attention to keep track of what's going on. Drew shines as the protagonist and Scott is great as the prince. The movie proves that you don't have to have overt sex scenes and nudity for a film like this to be effective or successful (which it was at the box office). I also like the message concerning the idiocy of societal classes and how one of the stepsisters is actually a quality soul.

The film runs 121 minutes.

GRADE: B+

Cinderella kicks butt in this feminist retelling of the classic fairy tale. Orphaned as a young girl, Danielle (Cinderella) is raised by her evil stepmother and two stepsisters in rural 16th century France. After a few chance encounters with the crown prince (who falls in love with her), Danielle finds herself on a collision course with her family who have royal designs of their own. Shot on location in France, the dialogue often veers very close to preachy, but knows when to cut the politics and return to the story. And a good story it is, well acted by Drew Barrymore as Danielle, and Angelica Huston as the wicked stepmother. This one is worth the rental.

...A filmmaker decided to do another rendition of Cinderella; and what a beautiful rendition it is!

Cinderella was always my favorite fairy tale, but this movie, at first, looked like yet another poor updating. Imagine my surprise when I watched it on video. It was beautiful, funny, thoughtful, smart, and wonderful. It brings the romance of the story fully to life and touches the heart. Sure, there are errors in history and anachronisms; but, it's a fairy tale. King Arthur wouldn't have worn plate armor, either.

Drew Barrymore delivers her best performance ever. The accent is a bit distracting, but she is consistent with it, unlike certain Robin Hood's I could name. She delivers on the promise she demonstrated as a youngster and brings those Barrymore genes to life. She handles the comedy as ably as the romance. You laugh when she first hits the Prince with an apple (pretty good shot, too!). You ache for her as her world seems to fall apart when Prince Henry learns the truth. You cheer when she renders justice to her oppressors.

Dougray Scott is a fine handsome Prince, a thinker as well as a fighter. His eyes are opened to the world he lives in by this passionate girl. Angelica Huston really adds the evil to the "evil stepmother". The rest of the supporting cast are uniformly great.

The addition of Da Vinci, if historically incorrect, is a nice twist on the Fairy Godmother. Who better to help a child of reason and enlightenment?

This is a true romance, a rare thing in today's movies, including the so-called "romantic comedies." It is a wonderful piece of work and a fine update to a classic tale.

And they lived happily ever after, indeed!

Cinderella is a timeless classic, a fairytale for all ages. And "Ever After" is pitch-perfect as an adaptation of the Cinderella story to screen.

As a fairytale, this movie follows a predictable pattern and storyline. It is sweet, light, innocent and beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. The cinematography is one of the stars here and this is a fabulous movie to watch - for the scenery, the costumes and the visual effects.

Anjelica Huston steals the show as the evil stepmother, but Drew Barrymore puts in a fine performance here, and Patrick Godfrey is wonderfully eccentric as Leonardo Da Vinci. Overall, this is not so much a movie about the acting, but it's more about the sometimes sappy, usually saccharine, but wonderfully heartfelt classic story. Instead of the magic of the original fairytale, Ever After replaces it with the "magic" of wit, humour and heart. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Funny and charming, Ever After is one of those great movies that can be watched over and over again.

As this came on TV, I decided to grant it a chance, in spite of not being a great fan of fairy tales. I found it quite entertaining, even if there are maybe a few lapses in writing. The plot is quite good, and progresses nicely throughout. The pacing is fair. The dialog is well-written and equally delivered. The acting is all pretty good... it was a pleasant surprise to see Melanie Lynskey(whom I so far have only seen one other place... as Rose on Two and a Half Men, a role that doesn't require all that much talent) play a much more grounded character, and do so very well. Dougray Scott was good. Anjelica Huston portrayed the evil stepmother of the story really good. Barrymore was well-chosen for the tom-boyish lead who is not stripped of feminine traits. The humor is decent... personally, I didn't laugh much, though several of Drew's character's actions had me cheering for her. The cinematography and editing was quite good throughout. The prelude and prologue are both well-written and fit in well with the tone and direction of the film. The mood isn't too sweet and while this is a fairy tale, it still managed to entertain me(and I have never found works in that genre to be of any interest to me). The only thing I truly didn't like about this was the line near the beginning which tried to place one definite meaning upon the smile of the Mona Lisa. I refer to the marvelously talented director Stanley Kubrick, who quite eloquently and perfectly expressed why such a thing should never be done. I recommend this to fans of fairy tales and/or the actors involved. 7/10

This movie is pure magic. Positively perfect in every way shape or form. If you haven't seen it, please do. It is an old story with several new twists. But it doesn't matter. The characters are perfect. The direction is perfect. It's worth it's weight, and then some, in gold. Watch it with the family and learn the meaning of sacrifice. And yes, I hate to admit it but true love.

"Ever After" is a wonderfully imaginative romance. It's a classic Cinderella tale set in 16th-century France and revolves around an independent young woman named Danielle. Although she works as a servant for her stepmother, Danielle is anything but weak and subservient. She is passionate and strong-willed, qualities that lead her to the French court dressed as a wealthy courtier to save a man's life. There she meets the handsome Prince Henry, who is jaded by his suffocating royal lifestyle. He is fascinated by Danielle and her thirst for life and adventure, and they fall deeply in love - but her jealous stepmother will do anything to keep them apart.

Drew Barrymore turns in a stunning performance as Danielle. Her emotions are raw and realistic and she gives the character charm, wit, and beauty.

Anjelica Huston brings a third dimension to her role as the "evil" stepmother, who is usually just portrayed as a flat character. In this movie she is an ambitious mother who would do anything to make her own daughter a queen.

The Prince is also usually a pretty flat, cliché character, but Dougray Scott brought a refreshingly human side to him and portrayed his struggles and conflicts very well.

The script is strong for a romantic fairy tale and the cinematography is gorgeous. There is one scene in which Danielle is floating on her back in the river, a dreamy and breathtaking moment that describes her carefree nature perfectly. The music composed by George Fenton is lovely - I recommend the soundtrack for this movie too, especially "Walking On Water."

A wonderful movie for all lovers of romance! 10/10

This film has the classic Cinderella story but with a modern twist. At times it does become a bit too blunt and implausible, with the protagonist sounding like a forced soapbox, but I still appreciated the fresh take and the story was still enjoyable.

Well-written, well-acted. Beautiful location/ scenery. Musical score is outstanding - perfect period/era fit & exquisite performances. A worthwhile and entertaining movie. Drew B, Angelica H. and cast including some soon-to-be-famous colleagues never seem trite or campy, but very authentic. Comic moments & surprising twists on the traditional Cinderella story make this a gem.

A romance-comedy retells the story of Cinderella, directed by Andy Tennant (SWEET HOME ALABAMA 2002, HITCH 2005 and FOOL'S GOLD 2008), in an attempt to revamp the fairytale with a historical context, in the early 16th century, France. A beautiful young girl Danielle (Barrymore), who is being treated as a servant by her stepmother, the baroness Rodmilla (Huston) after the sudden death of her father Auguste (Krabbé). Upon a chance meeting with Prince Henry (Scott), a romantic feeling has seized both of them, but Danielle is in her courtier disguise, in a moment of desperation, she uses her dead mother's name to hide her real identity.

While running from an arranged marriage from his parents King Francis I (West) and Queen Marie (Parfitt), Henry decides to marry the girl his heart really wants, so Rodmilla has an eye to the main chance to marry off her own daughter Marguerite (Dodds), and she has no qualms to hamper the true love between Danielle and Henry at all cost. The storyline is basically the same with the fairytale, but all the fantasy elements have been entirely trimmed off, no fairy godmother, no pumpkin carriage, even the slipper has no magic, instead, a real historical figure, Leonardo da Vinci (Godfrey) is introduced as the game-changer, with his painting MONA LISA, which was actually purchased by King Francis I.

One refreshing upgrade of the story is that Danielle's characteristic has been rendered a modern retouch, she is no longer a damsel in distress, she is the ill-fated Cinderella, but she doesn't need her knight errant to rescue her out of her misery, on the contrary, it is her who saves Henry from a gypsy mob by pluckily carrying him on her shoulder, and near the coda, it is also herself who defeats the Gothic-looking merchant Pierre Le Pieu (O'Brien) even before Henry's arrival, set side by side with Kenneth Branagh's flashier Cinderella (2015), EVERAFTER is unwaveringly innovatory to elevate its heroine out of the cliché and more modest in its art production.

So much for the good intention, the script still seems unbalanced, Marguerite's wilful turning against her mother is the work of a sophomoric writing, so is Henry's sudden change of mind, these parts are unfortunately being rushed out without thoughtful polishing. Barrymore's winsome appearance can smoothly erase viewers' memories about her problematic child-star past, and the film does revive her career, at the age of 23, she manages to pull off a second life on the big screen. This movie also marks Dougray Scott's Hollywood breakthrough, but one might argue, his sombre mien doesn't quite fit the role as an unsophisticated prince (maybe Jude Law would be a better casting choice), his Prince Henry is not dewy-eyed enough to believably amazed by Danielle's class-defying viewpoint and her extremely ample vigour for life, and his natural reserves doesn't help either.

As always, the evil stepmother is the most delectable part, and who can portray unbearable haughtiness better than the almighty Anjelica Huston? She is absolutely a hoot to watch, period. Melanie Lynskey's Jacqueline, Danielle's other step-sister, is another surprise, she is more defiant towards her mother and more sympathetic to Danielle, and wonderfully throws the last bon mot "of course not, mother, I'm here just for the food." in the otherwise bromide-laden ending.

I'm female and I was a teenager when this came out. Technically, I'm about the target audience for this film, but I didn't like it. A bit boring and depressing for me to watch.

I'm also find these sorts of butt-kicking but intelligent and day-dreamy feminist heroines to be very annoying. I find it hard to believe that a heroine whom we are supposed to believe is capable of taking care of herself would put up with so much **** in the movie by her stepfamily than she did. If this girl is capable of kicking a guy's butt near the end of the movie then this same girl should've been capable of kicking her stepfamily to the curb...but then again, we wouldn't have the Cinderella story that is the whole point of this film.

I absolutely hated Prince Henry and it's hard to believe that anyone could fall for him (or that he could suddenly have a change of heart in a split second). And yeah there is the issue of characters that are supposed to be French but have English accents, but when you're making a film targeted toward teenage girls, I guess these filmmakers thought they could get away with just about anything.

As for me I found this interpretation of Cinderella to be so boring and lifeless I couldn't care less. Nothing wrong with a little magic and character like the classic Disney animated version has over this one.

Isn't it what most people dream of? Prospering despite the difficulties in their lives? Finding their true love and being with him/her despite the odds?

This movie is most definitely not a retelling of the Cinderella story. It has aspects of that, the basic plotline, but a twist all its own. Gone is the pumpkin and the rats into footmen. Gone are the ugly stepsisters, the two equally horrid. No, in this one there is naturally one horrid stepsister, but the other is quite lovable. Dougray Scott is marvelously funny in his role as a Prince trying to find his way, and Angelica Huston is a brilliant evil stepmother, and Drew Barrymore makes a stunning Danielle... With other quirky characters thrown in along the way. Gustave, DaVinci, even the King and Queen are given personalities. The detail is incredible, the costumes gorgeous, and the dialogue enrapturing. This movie is counted among my most favorites, and I highly recommend it to any with a passion for romance.

To me this was the best remake of a fairytale ever! And I don't care if it's because I'm a girl and this is girlie material- I still loved it! Drew Barrymore personified this interpretation of Cinderella like no other. Angelica Houston was a kick ass evil stepmother. The combination of these two dynamite stars in these two classic roles created an unequaled magic. And of course let's not forget the freakishly handsome Dougray Scott who played Prince Henry. He graced the screen with a hypnotic charm that challenges any prince any day. This is my all time favourite movie. I can watch it over and over again. And I challenge any man to watch this film and understand what romance is really all about.

The best thing about EVER AFTER are the performances of Drew Barrymore, Dougray Scott and, most of all, Angelica Huston as the deliciously evil wicked stepmother. Good chemistry between Barrymore and Scott helps keep the female fans interested in the slowly developed romantic interest, and an appreciation for costumes, settings and photography broadens the appeal for everyone else.

But it's by no means perfect. First of all, it can't make up its mind whether it's a modern parable, an old-fashioned love story, a comic soap opera or all of the above. At times the dialog has an anochronistic slant, much too modern to be spoken by characters in period costumes that look authentically medieval.

And there are portions of the film that simply sag and stay stifled until some new twist comes along. But evidently young romantics find it the answer to their dreams as long as Drew Barrymore and Dougray Scott find their way toward a happy ending, even without a glass slipper. Both young players deserve meatier material but certainly have enough charm to keep the flimsy story entertaining enough.

I missed this when it came out, probably due to the negative reviews. Wow, is this film so good! Humor, romance, intelligence, action, etc. are all there and en pointe.

This movie is beautiful, and I am not just saying that. The cinematography and costumes(especially Danielle's swan dress) was gorgeous, especially in the ballroom scene. I loved the fact that they made it 16th century, that was really clever. The music was so beautiful, that at times I was reduced to tears. Now for the characters. Drew Barrymore, with an excellent English accent, has never been more beautiful as feisty servant Danielle, and the twists Andy Tennant put in allowed the romance of her and Dougray Scott(also excellent) to shine even brighter. Angelica Huston was deliciously evil as Rodmilla the evil stepmother, and Patrick Godfrey was surprisingly good as Leonardo Da Vinci. The stepsisters were also a delight to watch. The witty dialogue had some truly funny bits, like the scene in the woods, and some tearjerkers, the death of Danielle's father. The introduction of the Grimm Brothers was also great. All in all, I highly recommend this movie to all those who love romance. 10/10. Bethany Cox

This is a rather shallow movie. If you like intelligent well thought out movies, don't go see this. Drew's character was well done but Dougray's Henry was really annoying. His constant oozing over Danielle was disgusting. There are better movies out there.

Easily in the top 3 or 4 hundred Cinderella remakes of all time.

The Cinderella tale revised (and some may say improved upon) by turning the title character into a 16th Century servant girl with a feisty spirit, an educated mind, and a fearsome right hook! Drew Barrymore vacillates between victimized puppy, coy young woman and pre-feminist challenger in the lead, convincing the Prince of France that she's of nobility while captivating him with her inner-strength; still, she's fetching, despite an uneven accent and too many movie-star close-ups of her self-conscious smile. Anjelica Huston is perfectly fine as the hissably evil stepmother (she's appropriately contemptible without stepping over into camp) and Dougray Scott is the twinkling Prince (with an over-sized codpiece which seems like a sight-gag nobody took note of). Lovely locations and production design, though the film disappoints by cheating us out of two very important moments--an escape and a ceremony--and by stretching this tale out a tad too long. ** from ****