SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is a well-crafted, visually dazzling spectacle to behold with one's eyes. It takes great care in its CGI work, cinematography, and art direction to craft a tantalizing fable to watch. It also has one of best performances so far this year. And yet, I somehow had some personal qualms and concerns with it, especially since my enjoyment level was so severely low throughout the entire picture. Maybe the overall grimness and ultra-seriousness got to me somehow, despite those two factors being key to what makes the film work.
The movie revolves around three ominous blood droplets and the bitter relationship between two women. The king of a mighty kingdom, locked up perfectly next to a cliff and an ocean, decides to re-marry quickly after coming across the beautiful female prisoner of a defeated yet oddly magical army. The newly crowned Queen, and also step-mother to the King's much adored princess Snow White, then embarks on her wicked ways; she lies, cheats, kills, and steals her way to completely conquer the castle and banishes the beloved little girl to solidarity confinement in a tower. Years later, when White has come of proper age, the Queen is beginning to lose her luster of beauty, despite constantly zapping the youth from the many pretty girls in the kingdom. Right when she learns from her magic mirror that she needs to eat the heart of Snow White to gain immortal elegance, the princess finally escapes the castle thanks to a bird ex machina. The Queen sends a Huntsman after her, seven dwarfs later join the picture, then a different version of Prince Charming, and all the other expected elements of the beloved fable come forth to the surprise to no one.
As a strong counterpoint to the more popular Disney version, the film tries to touch upon the original mood and tone of the fairy tale devised by the Brothers Grimm, while also including recent social corrections and sensibilities, such as making the titled character something more than a wet blanket. It ultimately pays off, way too effectively in fact; some little kids might be scared by the dark, ghastly imagery and brief but bloody bits of gore. Though the overall film might seem to feel just like a cheap cluster of homages, ranging from LORD OF THE RINGS to the works of Hayao Miyazaki, director Rupert Sanders and his crew do create a nice creepy, unworldly atmosphere. There is also some surprisingly moments of tenderness and objectivity: Though always destined to be the villain of the story, the Queen is given back-story as a person who has been longed abused by powerful men. Considering how the King cared more of her fairness than of her mind when he decided to marry her, she seems to have a perfect reason for killing the barbarian.
Right next to visual design in terms of the film's brilliance is the acting. Kristen Stewart does hold up well as Snow White, bringing an earthly aura and warmth to the proceedings. Her constant mouth agape might distract you though, or bring some unintentional hilarity. Chris Hemsworth is better suited as the Huntsman, especially when he is given an affectionate monologue later on. As for the robust and talented supporting players as the dwarves, they were just simply okay and did what was expected of them. However, none in the cast comes anywhere close to Charlize Theron as the Queen. Though expertly given a short screen time, she dominates with ease, creating a truly scary antagonist. Her thunderous verbal lashes, piercing eyes, and unstable head jerks will jump you out of your seat.
As stated earlier, outside of the odd low personal pleasure of everything, I didn't have many problems with SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN. It's not absolute perfection but still a stunner to partake in theaters. Maybe once it becomes a DVD viewing stable for many later this year will it finally warm me over. Or, maybe it will just stay the same as a pretty yet a bit empty flick. It only seems fit to give the right rating for it, despite my lack of immense inner cheers. Outside of Charlize Theron, of course.
FINAL REVIEW: 4 / 5
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