Director: Rupert Sanders
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Drama
Rating: B+
In my review of Mirror Mirror
I predicted that, despite the fact that the film was predictable it was still
probably going to be the best Snow White film of the year. Having now seen Snow White and the Huntsman I must now do something that I don’t do
very often and admit that I was wrong. Snow White is surprisingly awesome. Sure, there are points when the plot is a bit over the top and the acting isn't exactly the greatest, but this film is intense and, in my opinion, well put together.
The film starts with the usual Snow White set up: the wicked witch Ravenna (Theron) manipulates her way into the heart of the king of the land and, on the night of their marriage kills him during sex. She then opens the gates to the castle and lets her army in, successfully taking over the kingdom. The one loose string that she leaves is the king's daughter, Snow White (Stewart), who she keeps alive but locked up in a tower. Ravenna manages to keep her power and beauty through the use of dark magic, but on the day of Snow White's eighteenth birthday her powers begin to wane; no longer the (legal age) fairest of them all, Ravenna must kill Snow and consume her heart in order to regain her supremacy and ensure that she will be powerful and beautiful for all eternity. Her plan, however, goes to shit from there, as Snow manages to escape from her prison and flees to the Dark Woods. Ravenna sends the Huntsman (Hemsworth), a drunk widower, and her brother(Spruell) into the woods to retrieve Snow White.
Snow White and the Huntsman is a lot darker than most Snow White films and as such has more of a connection with the original Brothers Grimm story. People don't seem to realize that classic fairy tales were not about people finding love and defeating evil and living happily ever after. I've been a fan of the darker, grittier stories for awhile now, so that whole aspect of this film is really what drew me to it. I like that Snow White is able to kick butt, but I also like that even while kicking butt she still falls into some of the more traditional aspects of the story. There's still the apple, there's still the kiss, it's just not exactly how you expect it. I think my favourite part of this film was the way that it merges themes of Medieval England, other traditional cultures, and folklore. There's fairies and dwaves (of the "heigh-ho" variety, not the little person variety) and a magical white elk-like creature, as well as folk-type songs and shield walls and European style castles. There's even this whole part that takes place in what feels like a Chinese fishing village. The attention that Sanders paid to the details of this film and the creation of this world is amazing.
There are a few moments in the plot that I didn't really like, such as when the Huntsman tells Snow to aim for the heart when trying to stab someone. I wasn't overly happy with the dwarfs either; I liked the way that they were created and the fact that they're a separate race, but I thought it was a bit ridiculous that rather than hiring actual little people as the dwarfs regular sized actors had their faces digitally transmuted onto small bodies. Doing that is an unnecessary extra expense and an outright insult to actual little actors. I really liked Theron's evil queen, and I love the detail that they put into making her look old. Her costumes in general walked a very fine line between being awesome and being over the top, and there were a couple that made me think the costume designer was a little too inspired by Lady Gaga. The character in general, though, was totally one that you love to hate, as was Spruell's character. There's something about him (or at least the way he was dressed in the film) that just screams creepy pervert, which given as that's what he was playing is a compliment. Hemsworth, as usual, was highly enjoyable, both to watch and to listen to, and he portrayed a very convincing person. I wasn't always sure what his motives were, but he won my heart in this film. As for Stewart... what can be said about her? So often she's criticized for being wooden and emotionless, and there is a lot to her Snow White that is wooden and a bit on the emotionless side. We do see a lot of her trade mark dead pan, mouth slightly open look, but you also get to see her smile and at points even laugh. I'm not sure how much of a range she has, but I think in Snow White she does broaden it more than she's done in some of her other, more recent works. She's not the best actress, but in a work where she's given actual direction and has a good script, I'm of the opinion that she can be enjoyable.
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