I have no vendetta against stories retold or the number of remakes a particular story has seen in years previous. My only concern is that the few hours I give away are rewarded. The tale of Snow White is known to most of us and has been retold extensively throughout the last few centuries proving its enduring universality as a story. Rupert Sanders’ ‘Snow White and The Huntsman’ seizes this opportunity, returning to the medieval roots of the Brothers Grimm tale whilst reimagining the world in which it’s set and scope with which it’s told.
I imagine there will be few who would disagree me here, the
visuals were resplendent. From the queen’s delectable garbs to the huntsman’s
rugged leathers, the costumes excelled. The foreboding castles and run down
towns were authentically designed and the verdant woodland and dark forest were
teeming with some truly imaginitive artistry that wove the world together. Then
within that world, the phantom army, the mirror and the queens gruesome magic
were constructed with such rare innovation that it pains me to say that, in the
end, all of this was sadly wasted. In everything else, this film was a let
down.
As the film developed following a reasonable start, what I
thought were just minor hiccups in the dialogue turned out to be consequences
of an ill-conceived screenplay that had no grasp on the characters or a solid
through line. I can only assume there had been a three-way dispute over the
plot that had never been resolved, and as a result we, the audience, were given
a all three at once. As well as the numerous duologues that came off as forced
and unnatural, the script seemed to be suffering from schizophrenia; changing
it’s perception of the characters with each passing scene. Our huntsman
Hemsworth for example was worthy enough for a title mention but seemed to be
kept at arms length from any plot lines as though the writers were worried that
he might actually become three-dimensional. Don’t get me wrong, Hemsworth’s
performance was by no means a bad one (even if a little ‘Thor’), it was that he
had the impossible task of portraying a faulted protagonist without being given
a clear purpose with which to grapple. If you want Sir Elton to write a song
for you, you’d make damn sure he had a piano and a pen first.
Opposite him was Kristin Stewart, who I was praying would
have escaped the snare Edward Cullen’s tranquilising charms – honestly I was. However,
her meek and vulnerable “help me” demeanour only had me expecting R.Pats to
turn up out of fog (there was a lot of fog) because Eric the huntsman sure as
hell wasn’t going to step up to the challenge. To her credit though, she began
with promise as the hard skinned prisoner from the dungeons who would rise
against the queen, but in the end she just wasn’t granted enough opportunity to
see it through.
The arrival of the dwarves were a welcome relief and a
refreshing twist on the ‘seven dwarves’ stereotype. Their crass language and
humorous discourse made for some enjoyable scenes that were executed brilliantly
by the eclectic mix of acting greats that had been brought together to form the
posse. The truth is that that amidst the disaster that is the rest of the film
it would have taken very little to appease me, but that doesn’t detract from
the fact that these scenes were enjoyable and welcome, wherever they were
supposed to fit into the yarn-ball of plots.
Was there supposed to be a love interest? I must have missed
that.
Queen Ravenna was evil… then she was sympathetic…then she
was evil. Despite her believable performance and resounding presence on screen,
these scenes were infuriating and I couldn’t tell whether I was supposed to
sympathise or hate. Classic fairy tale characters are by nature black and
white, so giving them fifty shades is a wonderful idea. But if you want an
emotional response, give me at least the hint of a reason. Ravenna’s tender
scenes were so overt in their plea for sympathy that I was worried I’d missed a crucial
flashback where perhaps it was revealed that her pony had gotten a cold once, but
alas no. No matter how hard I searched, I could find no motive to warrant
sympathy, regardless of being force-fed it by the cinematography.
My summary is quite simple. The film boasted some innovative visuals and showcased some wonderful artwork that succeeded in creating a fabulous three-dimensional fantasy world. Unfortunately, the script was mediocre and under-developed, the narrative lacked direction or clarity and the characters were vague and poorly imagined (with the exception of the dwarves). My only wish: To have those two hours back.
3/10
