Evil won

"Snow White and the Huntsman" is released

Snow White has been an extremely popular character lately. In particular, just in March Tarsem Sinha's film "Mirror Mirror" was released (in the Russian Federation it was called "Snow White: Revenge of the Dwarves"). The Disney studio was going to film its version of the famous fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. There, the heroine, it seems, was supposed to go to Asia, and they planned to replace the dwarves with martial arts specialists from different regions of the world. Fortunately, the studio put the project on hold.

On June 14, another film version of the story about the princess, her evil stepmother and seven dwarfs will be released on Russian screens. This time the film is called “Snow White and the Huntsman”, it was directed by director Rupert Sanders, who previously specialized in commercials. The main character is played by Twilight star Kristen Stewart. The role of the queen stepmother went to Charlize Theron.

True, the director and screenwriters of “Snow White and the Huntsman” decided to film a serious or, if you like, an adult version of the fairy tale. With Singh, everything was as if it were a joke: the poisoned apple, the gang of opposition dwarves, and the queen who was rapidly aging in the finale. In some places, Tarsem's film turned into a kind of romantic Bollywood comedy with songs and dances. It’s difficult to say anything specific about the Disney creation, since the film never materialized. However, one might assume that this film would also be a comedy in some sense - since the very idea of sending Snow White to Asia seems quite funny.

Still from the film "Snow White and the Huntsman"

According to the creators of “Snow White and the Huntsman,” viewers should not find it funny at all when watching the film. Gothics were mixed into the fairy tale. Theron picks out the insides of small birds for the purpose of rejuvenation. Stewart wanders through forests reminiscent of those seen in Tim Burton films, but inhabited by some creatures reminiscent of classic horror films. The creators of this “Snow White” do not claim any special realism, but there is enough dirt and blood in the film. Moreover, the writers even considered it possible to get rid of one of the dwarves - he dies in a battle with soldiers led by the brother of the evil queen (Sam Spruell). Frankly speaking, if the authors of the film were targeting a children's audience, the unfortunate gnome would probably have lived to see the finale.

Among other things, there are two potential suitors spinning around Snow White in the new film. Firstly, this is the hunter mentioned in the title of the picture (Chris Hemsworth). He seems to be full of grief in connection with the death of his beloved wife, but he also doesn’t mind giving the main character a kiss on the cheek. (Everyone knows that Snow Whites, who eat poisoned apples, come to their senses after a kiss.) The second potential lover is William, a childhood friend (Sam Claflin). However, Snow White is so preoccupied with restoring justice and fighting the queen who usurped the throne that the film never gets to the point of serious romance.

Arguing about whose approach to the film adaptation of Snow White is better is rather pointless. Both Singh and Sanders more or less coped with the tasks assigned to them. The first one turned out to be a wild comedy with dancing and acrobatic performances, decorated in acid colors. The second released a multimillion-dollar fantasy action movie with computer monsters in different shades of gray. True, Sanders' film, among other things, has one serious drawback: it seems that the most unsuitable actress was chosen for the main role.

Still from the film "Snow White and the Huntsman"

Kristen Stewart is an actress who is considered a beauty (primarily due to her role as Bella Swan in Twilight), but at the same time has a rather unpleasant face, unkind and stubborn. Moreover, there is no need to talk about any acting in this case. In fact, the only thing that shows on Stewart's face throughout the film is concentration. That is, it is clear that Snow White is moving towards a certain goal, but it is quite difficult to believe that a girl really defends good with such a face.

On the other hand, maybe the filmmakers had such an idea. That is, everything is clear about the queen: she sucks the life force out of everything that happens to be nearby, and is generally evil. But the authors may be hinting that the main character, in terms of personal qualities, is not far from her stepmother - with an impenetrable face, she moves towards her own goal, stepping over corpses. Maybe, of course, this is an erroneous point of view, formed due to Stewart’s not very developed facial expressions. Final conclusions can apparently be drawn only after the release of the sequel to “Snow White and the Huntsman” - there is no doubt that a sequel will appear.

Sergey Obolonkov

Evil won

Related links

Lenta.ru: Cinema: Evil Wins