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Reign Of The Evil (Bitch) Queen
After the childish bluster of Julia Roberts in Mirror Mirror recently it comes as quite a relief that Rupert Sanders new take on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale is light years better in quality. Following the recent trend in trying to ‘Nolan up’ a property by making it more dark and reality based (as Christopher Nolan did with Batman Begins) Snow White & The Huntsman grounds the fairy tale as a medieval story of oppression and revolution in a land where magic, trolls and fairies feel as real as war, taxes and mud.
The result is a dark, mature and highly atmospheric epic that’s far more enjoyable than I’d hoped. While there’s no great depth to the story (this is the archetypal heroes journey transposed to the Snow White lore) it is pleasingly slow and deliberate in it’s pacing, has many artistic flourishes to admire (some experimental editing and camera techniques) and Sanders has a remarkable eye for conjuring fresh and interesting visuals. His simple compositions are balanced out by rich texture in the production design and photography, the effects are stunning and practically flawless (courtesy of Rhythm & Hues) and James Newton Howard’s score lush score ranges from moody to uplifting.
The impressive cast deliver great work with Kristen Stewart fine as Snow White although you can’t help but think that a ‘Jennifer Lawrence’ type couldn’t have been more effective. Chris Hemsworth, complete with convincing Scots accent proves that Thor was no accident and demonstrates he’s a fully fledged leading man as the tragic and roguish Huntsman while Charlize Theron amps up the movie tenfold whenever she’s on screen. Sporting a flawless British accent, she’s the very essence of beauty personified…fitting for a character who values perception of her outer beauty above all else. With a performance from quietly menacing to eye bulging theatrics, Theron should be awarded for villain of the year if such a category were to exist in any revered film academy around the globe.
The film makers have to be admired from vering away from a Twilight-esque love triangle subplot meaning Snow White retains it’s integrity by staying restrained, subtle and quietly affecting. A wonderfully cinematic and arty reinterpretation of a familiar story, Narnia fluff this is not.
1 comment:
Agreed.
Being a geek for well done takes on fairytales this hit my geek buttons nicely.
It's gorgeous looking (and not just Charlize) and has a rich atmosphere and sense of a real world behind it. Some of the sequences are just stunning to watch, managing to maintain the lyrical quality of a fairytale (red blood drops and a single red apple in the bright white snow, a kiss of true love etc.), while also being grim, gritty, creepy and kinda violent. Sure, the story as presented isn't original or deep, but, much like traditional fairytales, it is all about archetypes and themes, here for example the hero's journey and the importance of inner beauty over outer beauty. And it works well seeing as how Charlize is far more beautiful looking than Kristen Stewart, who is of course perfectly attractive in her own right.
Same as you, I also liked how the romantic angle was actually played down here and didn't form a key part of the tale. Basically the love shown was more important than that. It was primarily about friendship, duty, loyalty, sacrifice, guilt and redemption. And the key kiss when it is delivered in a lovely and rather touching scene is all about those concepts and not a romantic thing.
Also, a special mention to the dwarves who were all great. A fab bunch of actors led by Bob Hoskins and Ray Winstone. They all did fine work.
Happy to hear that Universal have started developing a sequel with David Koepp writing. Cool! I'll take another bite of this apple.
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