Starring: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth,
Bob Hoskins
Director: Rupert Sanders
Running Time: 2 hours, 7 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Director: Rupert Sanders
Running Time: 2 hours, 7 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Photo courtesy of Greg Williams/Disney; US Weekly |
I’m really digging Hollywood’s idea of live-action remakes
of classic animated Disney movies. Just last week, a photo of Angelina Jolie as
Maleficent from “Sleeping Beauty” surfaced from the highly anticipated remake, and
it tells the story from the antagonist’s point of view. Similarly, “Snow White and the Huntsman” reveals a much darker evil queen, and blurs the lines of
reality and (science) fiction. (Side note - I’m glad I chose to spend two hours
watching “Snow White and the Huntsman” as opposed to the silly “Mirror Mirror.”
Sorry, Julia Roberts. Armie Hammer would have been the only highlight of that
movie.)
Photo courtesy of Allstar/Universal; The Guardian |
The setting is ambiguous; both the time period and location are
unclear, but we seem to be in some sort of fantasy world, a la Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland." Second only to “Monster,” Charlize Theron is in the role of
her life as the gorgeous, wicked Ravenna, stepmother to Snow White, and ruler
of the kingdom. This performance deserves nominations of all sorts. Her
portrayal of Ravenna made the movie successful, and it dragged when she was not
on-screen. And props to the costumer – I would love to rock any one of Ravenna’s
smashing outfits.
While there were moments of the awkward Bella from “Twilight,”
Kristen Stewart perfectly fit the profile as the fair, yet strong-willed Snow
White. The grime underneath Stewart's fingernails was a necessary detail, as she practically became Bear Grylls to escape being Ravenna's prisoner.
Sam Spruell portrays Ravenna’s creepy brother (with a chatch
haircut) and it’s obvious that he’s both bewitched by and terrified of his
sister’s power. In one scene, he hears her asking the “Mirror, Mirror on the
wall” the most famous question of them all. Ravenna clearly sees the mirror
come to life and speak the answer, but her brother just sees her talking to
herself. It’s obvious that this is all in her mind, and that she is seriously
disturbed.
Photo courtesy of Splash News/Universal; OK Magazine |
The only subtle humor comes from Chris Hemsworth as the
drunk (and jacked) Huntsman, but there is very little of this comedic relief.
Hired by Ravenna to capture Snow White from the deep, dark forest, he soon
realizes he should help SW escape her doomed fate. For those of you wondering
about the dwarfs – they make an appearance, though in the middle of the film
when the plot begins to drag. And they all seemed to be named “Grumpy.” Bob
Hoskins (Mr. Smee, anyone?) is the head dwarf and is practically unrecognizable.
There’s definitely an underlying theme in this modern fairy tale: women don’t need a man to be successful. Ravenna’s desire for power resulted from being “thrown out like a scrap” by a man. By being in control, she doesn’t have to worry about a man walking all over her. I get it, but she is relentless in her rise to the top. Similarly, the end leaves you wondering about Snow White’s romantic future. Though Chris Hemsworth’s bod would be enough to seal mine.
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