I had no intention of seeing Snow White and the Huntsman. The name simply suggests Disney Princess movie. It is a stereotype that might seem hard to shake. But watching the trailer for this film, I realized I needed to reevaluate my prejudices. After all, the Grimm brothers drew their original material from folklore that was not necessarily meant for children. Snow White and the Huntsman adequately captures the darker aspects of folklore, bringing a stunningly visual quality to the fairytale classic.
The list of people who have no knowledge of the Snow White tale can probably be counted on one hand. The Disney version has been seared in the minds of several generations of children. The latest incarnation of the story takes wide liberties with the material, while closely weaving major plot lines into a new cloth. The screenplay is a product of collaboration between writers Evan Dougherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini. The trio create an imaginative world that mirrors the familiar fairytale without copying it, creating a slightly more complex, darker version of events.
There are certain aspects of the Snow White story that cannot be changed. As a tale of good triumphing over evil, we end up with characters that are wholly pure and wholly evil. This restricts the writers from infusing the major characters with qualities that would undermine those concepts. However, the characters manage to appeal in spite of their moral absolutes. The characters surrounding the Queen and Snow White are more carefully rendered with a new plot twist written into the characters that take the ending in a slightly new direction. My only complaint with the writing was that the delivery was a bit heavy-handed at times. The pomp and circumstance, especially as Snow White reaches her ascendancy seemed excessive to me.
Kristen Stewart was an interesting choice for Snow White. I am not sure I would have cast her, and I struggled with that selection at times. In spite of my own reservations about Stewart, she did an excellent job with the role. As a young actress, she did not seem intimidated to share the screen with Charlize Theron (Queen Ravenna) whose performance was flawless. While Theron has a single Oscar for Best Actress, she is on my short-list of actresses with the talent to match Meryl Streep's unprecedented trifecta in 2012. Chris Hemsworth took the other title role, as Huntsman. Hemsworth has been in everything lately. While he is a decent actor, I don't fully get his steady stream of work, but he has grown on me over the years. It must be that Brad Pitt thing he has going.
The dwarfs were also an interesting lot that deserve mention. I was looking at familiar faces on the shortened bodies, wondering what I was missing. I finally placed it. The dwarf I was looking at was none other than Ian McShane who played Swearengen on the Deadwood series. He was my favorite on that program. I then realized that he shared the stage with fellow dwarf Bob Hoskins. Using some CGI trickery, Rupert Sanders rendered a variety of better and lesser known actors as dwarfs. The effect was seamless. It was morbidly fun to watch.
The CGI was not limited to creating familiar dwarves. Snow White and the Huntsman is a special effects delight. The film features a variety of special effects that make the film larger than life. With a budget of $170 million, Rupert makes good use of his special effects budget. While the film didn't have any particularly epic scenes, they were all filled with incredible detail and imaginative creativity. The dark elements of the film were eerily rendered with spine-tingling details, while the brighter scenes were amazingly vibrant. A couple of surreal fight scenes add some intense action to the mix.
Snow White and the Huntsman is rated PG-13. The rating stems primarily from the darker tone of this film. Don't go into this one expecting Disney. You will be disappointed. This film is dark, and at times, violent. Additionally, there is one scene where Queen Ravenna descends naked into a milk bath. The sensual aspect was minimal. The violence, disturbing imagery and dark flavor permeate the film throughout. While this film is not necessarily excessive for any particular age group, do not be surprised if it causes nightmares for younger viewers.
If I had not seen the trailer, I would never have even considered viewing Snow White and the Huntsman. The name itself calls to mind the Disney classic, drawing out my own preconceived ideas about the story. This story is anything but Disney. The familiar tale is mirrored in a new variation that draws on major themes of the originally while delivering an imaginatively new narrative. The special effects, dark flavor, star-packed cast, interesting interpretation and creativity ooze from this film. I am surprised I liked it as much as I did. 8/10.
