Snow White and the Huntsman

Check out my fellow blog/website Medium Rare's review on Snow White and the Huntsman....

Fairy tales have a peculiar function in our society. They are some of the earliest stories we hear as children, and the morals bestowed upon us by those stories take hold sooner than whatever our parents may have tried to impart. No wonder Disney filled their early catalog with imaginings of fairy tales, to tremendous success. But it’s a struggle to formulate a clear moral for Snow White, a story that centers on the question “Who is the fairest of them all?”  Snow White and the Huntsman, a live-action film that applies a layer of grit and grim seriousness to the classic story, attempts to deal with the question, but it bails out when it should’ve prodded.

Early on, the evil Ravenna (Young Adult Charlize Theron) pulls off a coup against a king and imprisons his daughter, the young Snow White (Kirsten Stewart). This act is punctuated by a speech about the frailty of womanhood and the currency of beauty. It turns out that Ravenna has been cursed and she needs to stay beautiful to hold on to her powers. 

The film takes this concept to its logical extreme, with Ravenna taking fair young maidens from her realm and literally sucking the beauty and vitality out of them. When it comes time to do the same to the king’s imprisoned daughter, Snow White manages to escape into the Dark Forest. Ravenna orders the Huntsman (Thor’s Chris Hemsworth) to retrieve her, but he reneges on the queen’s request and instead helps Snow White to reclaim her kingdom.

It’s unfortunate that the film does not further expound on Ravenna’s point about beauty. It seemed to hint at making a statement about society’s obsession with beauty, but ultimately it holds back. There are no great revelations; the beauty angle merely allows for copious effects shots of people’s faces rapidly aging or reverse-aging, an effect that becomes tiresome by the fourth time it occurs. Theron gives a commanding performance as the Evil Queen. She yells and booms throughout the film, while also displaying the softness of a woman who’s desperately hanging on to her beauty. To contrast, Stewart (Twilight saga) pales as the emotional core of the film, as she spends much of her screen time with a woebegone expression. It’s far easier to root for Ravenna’s quest for vanity than for Snow White’s retaking of the throne.

Rupert Sanders makes his directorial debut, and he makes a visually appealing film in his first effort. Much of that can be attributed to Colleen Atwood’s superior costume design, which is by turns ornate and grimy. The cinematography by Greig Fraser is also praise-worthy, showcasing the majesty of the Irish countryside and it’s coast. However, the natural beauty of the landscapes is often obscured by excessive CGI. The film is effects-laden to the point of distraction. Some scenes occur solely to show off another visual trick.

Unlike the classic takes on the story, Snow White and the Huntsman is unabashedly an action film. Fight sequences are ably shot, but the lack of danger towards the protagonists takes away from the visceral quality of the action. It all leads up to a conclusion that is more Joan of Arc than Snow White. Stewart is unbelievable in rallying her troops, and the climax suffers because of it. With a finale reminiscent of (yet nowhere near approaching) the Battle of Helms Deep, the film solidifies itself as a lobotomized swords and sorcery flick, never mind how good it looks.

The film benefits from the viewer’s familiarity with the fairy tale. It allows for a possibility of emotional resonance that the film does not earn on its own. As a child, you cared about Snow White’s fate. Here, you can barely muster the slightest concern. For all its attempts at being a darker take on a fairy tale, Snow White and the Huntsman is exceedingly light fare.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10