In the original stories by the Brothers Grimm, not all were
pretty and magical and had happy endings. They were bitter, dark, and
cruel. The movie Snow White and the
Huntsman starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth took the
same route.
Snow White and the Huntsman begin with Snow White as a
child, losing her mother and her father remarrying. The night her father gets remarried, Ravenna
kills him and takes over his kingdom locking Snow White in the north tower
until she is useful. When Snow White comes of age, Ravenna sends
her brother to kill her as Snow White has become fairer than the Queen. Snow White escapes and so begins the pursuit
of Snow White by the Huntsman and the search for her by her father’s faithful
following that survived the purging of the kingdom so many years ago.
This was Kristen Stewart’s follow-up movie to the Twilight
Series. Was it good – was it bad? It was
hard to tell. The farther the movie
progressed, the less I was watching her.
I wasn’t thinking about her acting; I was thinking about the story and
Snow White. So in that sense, she did a
good job of helping viewers forget that she spent 5 movies portraying an iconic
character in literary and film history.
But Stewart wasn’t the main attraction. Charlize Theron’s portrayal of the Evil Queen
Ravenna was by far the best part of the movie.
She puts all other queens to shame with her performance. Her portrayal had so much fire and intensity
it was hard to look away. The viewer was
brought back to reality however when she turned from the gorgeous woman she
creates to the ragged, old and decrepit crone she truly is. The movie did a great job going from one
extreme to the other with her and the only other actress I could see doing the job
any better would be Angelina Jolie but even then it is only a small chance.
The story flowed nicely from point to point. What might have
seemed out of place for some (the singing from the dwarves) seemed appropriate
in a place turned dark and morose after Ravenna took over. In the darkest of times a light can be shown
and in this world it was the singing and the few minutes of happiness the
dwarves, Snow White and the Huntsman receive from it.
It has been a while since I have seen it so my review isn’t
as current as it could be. I will get better at this. What I can deduce from
watching this movie is I was glad I watched it.
It was entertaining, suspenseful, dark and enticing. The creators of the movie weren’t afraid to
step over the boundaries of the original tale and create their own
version. I am glad they did.
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