We are in a year full of hero stories;
the same classic stories of a hero leaving home to encounter his destiny. But
there is a twist to these new hero stories: our heroes are actually heroines.
Joseph Campbell would be very proud to see how the formula adapts years later, and
would even be surprised to see it works just fine. “Snow White and the Huntsman”
fits right in this category and I must say I was very surprised with the way
they approached the movie. The damsel in distress is becoming the savior and I’m
having a great time watching this change.
“Snow White and
the Huntsman” tells the classic tale of the Grimm Brothers’ “Snow White” (played
in this iteration by Kristen Stewart). It all starts when Ravenna (Charliza
Theron) comes to the kingdom, seduces, marries the King and later kills him.
She ends up taking the throne and banning Snow White into a bleak dungeon,
afraid of what she could become. After many years, Snow White is able to escape
and as the classic fairy tale tells us, a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) is sent to
kill her. With the help of many unexpected creatures, Snow White will have to
show who she truly is and claim what is rightfully hers.
This year we got
to see three Snow Whites: One on TV in “Once Upon a Time”, one who tried to be
funny in “Mirror, Mirror” and Stewart’s own version of her. As it was to be
expected, comparisons and expectations were thrown into all three of them. To
be honest, I think the one that truly captures the essence of what a modern
hero is truly about is the one we see in “Snow White and the Huntsman”. Rooky
director Rupert Sanders established a tone, not being afraid of going over the
top. He created a world and respected its rules and that is why it works.
The technical
aspects of the movie immensely aid the suspension of disbelief necessary to
enjoy the film. For one, the cinematography is beautiful and achieves some
breathtaking shots that elevate the canvas they are painting for us, giving
reality within a fantastical world. The stark color contrast between brightness
and dark make for a rich visual experience that had me wowing more than once.
This goes hand in
hand with the art, sets, and places used to shoot the movie. They really
created a world were you can feel the difference between “what should have been”
and how the Queen has changed the world. They use nature to connect Snow White
and this eccentric, filled-with-life environment. Through the colors and
ambience we know our characters: Snow White’s is filled with life, hope and
courage, whereas Ravenna’s is proud, fearful and full of despair. It is a
pretty obvious metaphor, but it works and it enhances the narrative if on a
subtextual level.
The three main
characters are well casted. Kristen Stewart finally gets a big role in which
she can show her acting skills. Having said this, her character doesn’t let her
enough room to get to the level she has shown in movies like “Adventureland”
and “Speak”, and her semi-british accent kinds sucks. Charlize Theron shines as
the evil queen; she is scary, beautiful and over the top. Chris Hemsworth was
made for the role as the morally confused huntsman with the dreamy face and
heart of gold. Between the three, they carry the movie well.
Having said all
the positive stuff, there are a couple of things that don’t let the movie be
what it could’ve been. The script, even for a very simple tale of bravery and
sacrifice, makes the narrative feel choppy. The story doesn’t flow in its
entirety and it seems slow at times. This I attribute, mostly, to amount of
unnecessary characters. The most notable example is Prince Charming or William (Sam
Claflin), the love triangle can’t even be called that and it makes this
character seem annoying and out of place. He feels like a pawn used by the
writers to fill the empty spaces they had in their story. It’s hard to connect
with him, and he takes room from other stuff that could have been explored
deeper, like Snow White’s relationship with Ravenna, the dwarves or even the
huntsman.
All in all,
“Snow White and the Huntsman” makes for great entertainment with some
impressive achievements. It has some pretty big faults, but at the end the
positive parts of the film outweigh them. It is not deep and soulful, but still
presents a new type of protagonist that represents a cool new twist.
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