Snow White and the Huntsman: 2012
Have you seen it yet? Were you planning to? If you weren’t planning to see this film and had written it off completely, I urge you to re-consider.
Now, I want to start by managing expectations here. It is an adaptation of the Snow White story and so and all know the storyline, no great surprises here. But I particularly love the take and tone of this film.
A good place to start would be with Jess Hall’s cinematography, for me this is absolutely the number one selling point of the film. It is beautiful, majestic, and enchanting all at once. Sanders’ direction is to be commended also, as Theron gives an outstanding, original performance as the evil queen.
Another strength of the film is the characters who are well rounded, as opposed to simply being caricature baddies and goodies. A lot has been said of Kristen Stewart’s performance in particular. And whilst it isn’t groundbreaking, she absolutely nails the purity and innocence of the protagonist that you are rooting for from the get go. Physically she embodies the almost ethereal qualities of a fairytale character and she holds onto to her English accent and maiden charm throughout. I was initially wary of her and Chris Hemsworth playing opposite each other, as both are such household names, especially in the world of “fairy tales” and “super heroes”, but Hemsworth also shone in the role of the troubled Huntsman, whose redemption lies within this girl’s survival. There were also great performances from Sam Claflin and Sam Spruell.
The news this week of Snow White and the Huntsman 2 has definitely piqued my interest and I will be intrigued to see where this goes…
7/10
