In “Snow White and the Huntsman” the Evil Queen Ravenna played by Charlize Theron gazes into her aging beauty in the Magic Mirror, beside stands her loyal brother Finn played by unsettling Sam Spruell. Depleted Ravenna calmly says, “My power fades.” She must literally take the heart of Snow White played by Kristen Stewart, the fairest of all, to claim immortality and everlasting beauty. Theron in her pristine beauty is ferociously powerful as the Evil Queen, terrifying menace and strangely sorrowful. Her commanding voice and presence are amazing to behold. Seemingly in parallel, in the Dark Forest, Snow White asks the Hunstman, fierce and explosive Chris Hemsworth, whether he drinks out of sorrow or to forget his sorrow. Theron hints at the hurtful betrayal in her past, that has unleashed her limitless rage for the men, who use women—rather the men who have used her.
This is the dark violent fairy tale world of first-time Director Rupert Sanders’s “Snow White and the Huntsman” which is stunningly beautiful and visually astounding. Cinematographer Greig Fraser creates spectacular images: Snow White befriending the magical beast in the Woods, the Huntsman striking the Queen’s guards into black glass shards, and the captivating Theron emerging naked from the milk bath.
Evan Daugherty along with John Lee Hancock and Hossien Amini wrote the screenplay which has a distinct feminist vibe with the brave warrior princess in Snow White played by Stewart. I have not read the original Brothers Grimm tale, but I am guessing that it did not have the village of self disfigured women and girls, who have done so to protect themselves from the Queen’s wrath. Sanders and Daugherty’s message that our obsession with superficial beauty can end in tragedy is warranted in this day and age.
I am wondering in this revisionist “Snow White and the Huntsman” whether the Grimm fairy tale teetered on the balance of true love’s kiss. The child Snow White wonderfully played by Raffey Cassidy is pure of heart and beauty. We learn that after her Mother’s untimely death, her Father King Magnus (stalwart Noah Huntley) rashly takes Ravenna (Theron) as his new Queen. Ravenna murders Magnus, imprisons Snow White and imposes the dark reign in the Kingdom. Then one day, the Mirror Man (eerily ominous Christopher Obi) informs Ravenna that she is no longer the “fairest of them all”. Snow White (Stewart) valiantly escapes the castle into the Dark Forest, averting certain doom. At the dramatic narrative arc, Theron’s Ravenna challenges Stewart, “Come and avenge your father ” For Sanders perhaps, it was never about the kiss, rather reclaiming one’s power. And there may be a twist about that kiss. To that end Chris Hemsworth and Kristen Stewart are powerful and the formidable force of good against Theron’s Evil Queen.
Hemsworth harnesses explosive power and sublime sadness as the Huntsman. He is a towering hero, handsome and chiseled. He has genuine screen presence. His innate physicality engages in the fight scenes. He convincingly stands his ground with the charismatic Theron, when she orders him to retrieve Snow White from the Dark Forest. Hemsworth displays poignancy as the drunken widower, who misses his beloved wife, agreeing to the Queen’s offer: “A life for a life” Hemsworth has a touching scene with Stewart saying, “I am so sorry, I failed you.” He is evolving as a powerful leading man.
Kristen Stewart is the surprise. She possesses a quiet beauty and fierce spirit that triumphs as Snow White in “Snow White and the Huntsman”. I think she may have been a victim of the source material in the “Twilight” movies. She brilliantly balances authentic courage and vulnerability when she pleads with Hemsworth, “If you return without me, you’re dead. If you leave me, I’m dead.” However, her Prince Charming, or in this story William played by solid Sam Claflin does not fare as well as the fairest Snow White. William (Claflin) had a childhood crush on Snow White, until the Evil Queen’s reign. Claflin is also handsome and as William is a masterful archer. He is all very earnest and sincere, the polar opposite of Hemsworth’s gruff rugged Huntsman. I don’t know if Writer Daugherty miscalculates in the stacked deck.
The other surprising quirk is the 7 Dwarfs. Actually, there are 8, and they are not the jovial singing little people we are used to in the Disney version. Using amazing CGI, great actors Ian McShane and Bob Hoskins lend amazing gravitas as Beith and Muir. In the magical forest scene Muir tells the Huntsman, “She is the One!”
Stewart is the One in “Snow White and the Huntsman”. She along with Hemsworth and Theron are powerful in the cathartic battle of good and evil. The movie is a surprise on many levels. “Snow White and the Huntsman” is awesome.
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Photo credit: Shutterstock, modified