First and foremost, let’s deal with the downsides (i.e.,
Kristen Stewart). And, in my opinion,
Kristen Stewart is not necessarily one of them.
Now, please do not misunderstand – I have a hatred of the Twilight Saga that burns as bright as a
supernova. That however does not extend
to my inherently hating the actors (though Robert Pattinson still looks like a
foot in my opinion). They were hired to
do a job and I will not allow my dislike of a film to ruin my opinion of them. As such, Kristen Stewart, in my opinion, while
not the world’s greatest actress, is well suited to play Snow White. Kristen’s flat facial effect serves well as
the naïve yet noble Snow White, much as Keanu Reeves’ flat effect works in his
portrayal of cold hard badasses and/or stoners.
There is one moment on film where her performance is genuinely painful
(the coronation scene, look for it), but that hinges on bad script writing that
leaves both actress and audience hanging as to the appropriate facial
expression. Aside from her (and she is a
highly polarizing aspect of this film, with some praising and some damning her
performance), there honestly isn’t much to pick at for flaws.
As such, once one gets past Kristen’s (debatable) performance,
one finds a film that, ultimately, is a well rounded retelling of a fairy tale
that holds to its roots while simultaneously delivering a fresh new tone to the
story. The inherent plot is exactly the
same as virtually every version of the Snow White tale. Snow White’s mother wishes for a daughter,
Snow White’s mother dies after said daughter is born, her father remarries, the
Queen becomes rampantly jealous of Snow White’s beauty, Snow White is forced to
run for the hills where she meets up with a bunch of dwarves, almost winds up
poisoned by her stepmother’s apple, is revived by a kiss, and returns to seek
revenge on said stepmother. What makes Snow White and the Huntsman differ from
the usual tale is the extensive character building received by all the
characters (but especially the evil queen, Ravenna,) as well as the fleshing
out of the bare bones of the story from a basic fairy tale to an epic
film.
Thus, while the acting of Kristen Stewart may be up for
question, Charlize Theron’s performance as Ravenna is beyond reproach. Rather than functioning as the average, vain
evil queen, Ravenna is a near primal force, crazed with a need for immortality,
control, revenge on men, and maintaining her beauty. She conquers and kills with chilling
impunity, a woman on the warpath who is still human even as she is never
presented as anything less than outright deadly. To maintain her beauty and power she devours
the youth of young women (how Elizabeth Bathory of you, Ravenna), and
discovers, upon consultation with her magic mirror, that she can gain unfading strength
in both areas by ingesting the heart of Snow White, which she proceeds to go
about doing so by any means necessary.
Her madness and sorrow are palpable things, and her power as queen is enough
to make you get down on your knees and swear fealty in the movie theater.
Besides Ravenna, one has the titular Huntsman, (whose name
is Eric though I don’t think that it’s ever mentioned), who, as portrayed by
Chris Hemsworth, is by turns gruff and sweet, and, for the ladies of the
audience, most certainly attractive even when covered in mud. For the ladies who prefer more clean cut men,
however, do not despair: There is also
Snow White’s childhood sweetheart, the prince, who doesn’t serve much purpose
other than to be a foil to the huntsman and jump around shooting a bow and
being cute. The dwarves, meanwhile, are
amusing to a man, and the rest of the cast does their job quite well. It’s an all-around win.
Ladies going to war in full plate armor. HELL YES. |
The unabashed strength of the women is perhaps one of the
most surprising and surprisingly well handled aspects of the whole film. Ravenna and Snow White are never relegated to
the position of damsel in distress, and on the rare occasion where that may
seem the case (such as when Ravenna is first introduced), they turn the tables
on their would-be rescuers in seconds. And
when the last fight scene rolls around, Snow White and Ravenna rally their
troupes and lead their soldiers into battle, culminating in one-on-one combat
between both women. Without needing to
scream their independence to the rafters both women are leaders and, Ravenna’s
madness aside, well worth tipping one’s hat to as ladies of a high order.
Finally, there is the appearance of the film, which is
drop-dead gorgeous. Sweeping landscape
shots of Germanic looking mountains are punctuated with lush enchanted forests,
spooky marshes, and Ravenna’s palace, located on the coast and surrounded by an
ever roiling ocean. The costumes are
equally lovely, with Ravenna’s outfits being some of the most jaw dropping
pieces of work I’ve ever personally seen (one, which wasn’t used in the film
unfortunately, was trimmed with umpteen iridescent beetle wings). If nothing else, this is by far the most
aesthetically pleasing film I’ve seen this summer.
So, to go see it or not to go see it? That depends on whether or not one is fond of
fairy tales that take themselves seriously (and whether you do or do not mind
Kristen Stewart). It is a common trope
that films based on legends or folk stories tend to take a more sarcastic or
excessively gritty tack on the plot. Snow White and the Huntsman, however,
skirts the line of gritty without ever crossing over it excessively and
completely ignores the cynical aspect. As
such, if you don’t like the idea of fairy tales where a woman is referred to un-ironically
as ‘the one who will bring balance’ (and no, she is not bringing balance to the
Force), then look elsewhere. If that
doesn’t bother you, (and neither does Kristen Stewart), then you should love the
film.
P.S. Florence &
The Machine’s song ‘Breath of Life’ is used in the credits, thus making
this lady a very happy panda.
I've been considering seeing this movie! glad I found your post and blog. will follow along :)
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