Snow White and the Huntsman: Not the Fairest of Them All

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to some this title brings back memories of the cheerful Disney movie with sing-alongs like, “Just sing a happy song while cleaning up." To others it can be a horrifying reminder of the typical Disney female figure - a weakling princesses that depend entirely on others for help. The character of Snow White in Snow White and the Huntsman attempts to be anything but. Well actually she does depend on others to get her to safety, but the difference here is that she also has the capacity to be a fighter. This adaption of the Brothers Grimm fairytale about a girl cast aside by her conniving, beautiful stepmother only to be hunted down when the queen’s mirror on the wall tells her Snow White will soon surpass her in beauty casts a different veil over the story line yet is no more thrilling than the original Disney version.

In his directorial debut, Rupert Sanders directs Bella Swan, I mean Kristen Stewart as the title lead Snow White, Chris Hemsworth as the grungy “huntsman” and the charming Charlize Theron as the evil queen, a well-known and mostly respected cast. The trailer came across as nothing but…epic. Snow White leading an army into battle to avenge her wronged father against her evil stepmother? What could be a better portrayal of a girl so wronged for being nothing but innocent and attractive? Where Disney had gone wrong, this movie could be a shining light for the adaptions to come of the empty-headed princess fairytales of old that so many of us grew up on and loved to sing about. I just knew that this movie would prove exciting and different, which is why I regret to say it was a huge disappointment.

There are however, two actors that partially succeed in bringing the movie to life (and pretty much carrying it through). Unfortunately it is also true that Hemsworth (Thor) and Theron (Young Adult) only half-succeed which is only to be expected with their limited screen time and their poorly scripted lines. Their characters even feel out of place in this otherwise poorly acted and scripted film. The movie begins with Snow White’s mother’s death and her father’s speedy remarriage to a young, appealing girl (Theron) he discovers in an abandoned wagon after a vicious battle against magically created warriors. There seems to be virtually no affectionate bond between father and daughter which passes because as quick as that he is poisoned and stabbed by his new bride, leaving the queen free to ascend the throne as the sole ruler. What is not expected is that the dark queen in a twisted, thrilling turn possesses a logical motive for murdering her new husband; men use women for their beauty and then toss them aside once they grow old and boring. Better to toss the king before he tossed her.

Another addition, the sorceress queen also has a brother who acts as her dog, running errands and listening to her rants and tantrums about beauty and loyalty whenever needed. To live so long (centuries) and so strongly, the queen sucks life out of young girls to regain her youth something she equates to power. In addition she is able to cast magical spells to extend the life of her brother or attack enemies. To maintain her power she has to be certain that no one exceeds her in beauty, such as Snow White for “by fairest blood her beauty was made and by fairest blood it can be taken away.”

Snow White, who has been shut up in a tower all her life and believed to be dead escapes this bloody end leading to the queen to summon he who has no name, or the huntsman (Hemsworth), introduced with a drunken bar fight and sentiments about his dead wife. This is actually how the queen secures his commitment to hunt down Snow White who has escaped and run far into the haunted, ghostly forest no one dares enter. I’ve read from even the highest praising reviews and the best they can do is excuse this movie as “it is what it is”, simply an adapted fairytale. What they fail to mention is how much better this movie would have been had it had a better lead actress to spruce Snow White up and give her much needed personality, “sprit and heart,” everything the huntsman claims she has in the movie during a moving monologue comparing Snow White to his dead wife.

With the exception of Snow White’s surprising willingness to enter battle (without any horse or sword training whatsoever) what pours forth from Kristen Stewart is Bella Swan thrown into a hostile environment. Almost every scene is ill-timed and out of place in a film that goes on for far too long, 127 minutes. There is no banter, nor chemistry between either of her leading costars, the huntsman or her long lost childhood friend William (Sam Claflin).

Chris Hemsworth seemed out of place as the gruff, tortured huntsman who took a genuinely affectionate approach to Snow White but his costar in turn came off as wooden and entirely awkward at best. I was confused as to whether the director was going for a romantic spin on the story or not. When said huntsman would flirt or attempt to connect to her, Snow White would just stare back at him with a half-smile and the scene would end. There were many secretive glances in each other’s directions and some brave rescues on the huntsman’s part but otherwise it was lacking. There was next to no interaction. The movie lacked heart and character development as well, and inter-relationships were next to non-existent.

Many lines were corny or lacked conviction such as Kristen Stewart’s 'rousing' battle speech that failed to spark the sense of finesse it desperately needed. The interludes leading into the next scenes were choppy and uneven so that it was difficult to determine if the previous scene had really just happened. However, the score by James Newton Howard was nice, the special effects were truly stunning, and the cinematography was very real and beautifully shot and put together. Every detail of the settings built a bigger, more down-to-earth picture, exactly what this film needed. From a glowing, sunlit forest full of roaming woodland creatures, and dazzling natural occurrences to a dark, dismal forest full of grubby bugs and wispy Dementor-like figures, the movie succeeded in whatever scene was filmed.

Still, scenery and special effects do not build a movie and this was no exception. The script was definitely wanting, and did not help Stewart’s utterly unlikable heroine although it gave her costars opportunities to excel where she did not. The movie is a mass of following a cast that is simply running to the next danger, and honestly it drags on for entirely too long. Essentially the plot is as follows: Snow White and the huntsman are chased, they meet up with the dwarfs and William on the way, they’re caught by the queen’s ugly brother, and then they somehow escape. This happens a number of times and fills up almost the entirety of the movie. The battle sequences are too short, and most on Snow White’s part gapingly unbelievable since it is assumed she never left the tower to learn how to ride a horse or how to handle a sword. Even when the power duo is joined by the supposed comic relief, the seven dwarfs, the viewer does not feel a sense of comfortable association with any of the main screen characters. Charlize Theron’s sinister, evil scenes are the only relief from the tiresome journey where actors try but fail to make a lasting impression or accomplish anything worth mention.