Snow White is all the rage. She’s on Sunday nights on ABC in “Once Upon a Time,” she was in the movie “Mirror Mirror” earlier this year and now she’s in “Snow White and the Huntsman,” a new feature film. I’m not sure who tracks what audiences will like and then tells entertainment companies what to make, but if more than one person fills this role, they need to start comparing notes.
With the exception of enjoying its spellbinding visuals, I did not like “Snow White and the Huntsman.” It uses as its narrative springboard the German fairy tale compiled by the Brothers Grimm - with “grim” being the key word. Instead of putting a Disney-like spin on the story, director Rupert Sanders and his writers play the tale straight, like a serious drama, only one set in a world in which evil witches, fairies and trolls exist.
One of the film’s downsides is the acting, which is slightly off-kilter. Kristen Stewart (“Twilight”) and Charlize Theron (“Monster”), who play Snow White and the wicked queen, respectively, appear to have gone for a theatrical tone, but generally missed the mark. Theron hits some good notes, but there’s none of the delicious villainy that defines many of Disney’s best bad girls. Worse, in most of her scenes, her fake accent and over emoting are distracting.
The story is boring, perhaps because its details are too familiar. To preserve her youth, the queen must magically steal the years of the beautiful young women who live in her sprawling kingdom. A ravenous ruler, she tricks Snow White’s father, the king of an unconquered realm, into marrying her and then kills him on their wedding night. The scene is especially dark because she doesn’t just stab the man, she paralyzes him and then explains her plan to him. She’s not satisfied with pulling off an evil plot; she wants the other person to know she’s defeated them. The queen then locks Snow White in prison, where the girl remains until she’s as old as Bella in “Twilight.”
Years later, the queen feels her powers waning, and her usually reassuring mirror tells her another is fairer than she is and is destined to be her undoing - Snow White. However, if the queen can physically steal the girl’s heart, she will live forever and never grow old again.
Snow White manages to escape her grasp and disappear into the Dark Woods. The queen sends the Huntsman to fetch her. Chris Hemsworth essentially imports his performance as Thor in the Marvel movies into “Snow White,” although he’s more of a natural in his role than either Theron or Stewart are in theirs.
I would not consider it a spoiler to reveal that the Huntsman finds Snow White but does not take her to the queen. Instead, he switches his allegiance to his former mark and resolves to help her defeat the dreadful ruler.
I struggled to pay attention. The filmmakers must have hoped the audience’s interest in seeing a different take on familiar events would keep viewers engaged, but that didn’t happen with me. Instead, my mind wandered as the travelers went here, and this happened, and then they went there, and that happened, and then they met the dwarves, none of which were whistling, or working for that matter.
Things finally get interesting when the queen infiltrates their camp and uses deception to lure Snow White into the woods alone. She’s on the verge of death at that point, but instead of getting to the business at hand, she takes the time to describe her plan to an incapacitated Snow White, which gives the Huntsman time to rescue the princess, which sets up the big showdown at the queen’s castle, which was not nearly as exciting as it should have been.
For all of its visual splendor, “Snow White and the Huntsman” lacks a soul. I enjoyed the sinister atmosphere of the Dark Forest, and I could have watched the mystical creatures that inhabit the woods named Sanctuary for hours, but those were brief flourishes in an otherwise dreary tapestry. If you’re still curious, wait until it’s available for rental.
Rated PG-13 for intense violence and action, and brief sensuality. Two stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.