Film Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

Posted on June 21, 2012 by TheHouseworkCanWait

My husband and went to see Snow White and the Huntsman last night for our anniversary, which has been one of my husband’s most anticipated films this year, ever since he saw the extended trailer (which is at the bottom of this post, for your viewing pleasure). And although it has been receiving mixed reviews from critics and fans, for us, it delivered. (This review will contain minor spoilers, but only if you are also completely unfamiliar with the original Snow White tale).

What We Expected

I think a large portion of how much you enjoy a film depends on what you expected going in. For example, my brother and his wife saw Pan’s Labyrinth in Italy after just seeing the poster. They hadn’t seen any trailers and couldn’t read the poster, since it was in Italian, so they just went off the image. My sister-in-law was in the mood for a nice, sweet fairy tale for children.

If you have seen Pan’s Labyrinth, you know that while it could be considered a fairy tale, it is definitely not sweet and is most certainly not for children. So they were disappointed upon their first viewing experience. Now, after subsequent viewings, they would consider it a good film, but the first time was a let-down because of inaccurate expectations.

So here’s what we expected from Snow White and the Huntsman.

Stunning visuals.
A grittier and tougher interpretation of the fairy tale of Snow White.
Great action.
A scary villain.
A sympathetic look at the Huntsman
Maybe a touch of romance
Not too much from KStew.
To be entertained.

What We Did NOT Expect

Oscar-caliber writing or acting
An incredibly moving cinematic experience
A journey of self-discovery
Deep questions that made us question the nature of our existence
Blown minds
Deeply thoughtful and nuanced storytelling that explains everything
Lord of the Rings

What We Got

Stunning Visuals

CHECK. Seriously, this movie is gorgeous. Although if it bothers you that everyone except KStew is perpetually covered in filth, then prepare to be bothered. As we came out, G asked, “How is it possible that this movie was so pretty while everyone was so dirty?” And I don’t know. But it was.

Visual Effects and Art Direction are the two categories where I think this film could win an Oscar.

The only (extremely minor) visual complaint I have is that the CGI department could make extremely “realistic” looking fairies and trolls, but they couldn’t do a rabbit. The bunnies looked like they were animatronics at Disney World. What’s up with that?

A Grittier and Tougher Interpretation of the Fairy Tale of Snow White

CHECK. It definitely delivered on the grit (see above, re: dirt). And Snow White wields a sword (badly) and armor (awkwardly). Much cooler are the Huntsman (who is never given a name) and the Prince (William – although in this, he’s actually a Duke’s son, not a prince) as far as the grit and toughness are concerned. No character in this film is above getting their hands dirty, and no character is completely one dimensional.

As far as the expanded backstory goes, the tale of how the Evil Queen (Ravenna) came to be Snow White’s stepmother and assume the throne is unique and interesting. There are some questions left unanswered (for example, the queen muses at one point that she should have killed Snow White as a child, but then never explains why she didn’t). If I wanted to poke holes in the plot, I could.

But I didn’t really care. The main points of the story were all there, some of the details were filled in, and if I used my imagination, I could fill in the rest.

Great Action

CHECK. The Huntsman and William both have some great fighting scenes. And while The Hemsworth — I mean Huntsman — is pretty awesome with his axe, I have always been a bit of a sucker for some great bow-and-arrow action, whether it’s Legolas in Lord of the Rings or Hawkeye in The Avengers or, in this case, William in Snow White and the Huntsman.

The downside of the action are the brief moments when Snow White has to fight, because she is supposed to have no idea what she’s doing, and therefore looks like she has no idea what she’s doing. So basically it serves the plot that her fighting is awkward, but not the part of me that wants all action scenes to be EPIC.

Also, now would be the time to point out that Kristin Stewart looks really weird attempting to ride a horse. I found it amusing that you could tell when her double was being used in long shots, because she wasn’t bouncing around like crazy on the horse.

A Scary Villain

CHECK. But not who you would expect. While Charlize Theron was definitely scary, she was also kind of caricatured, what with all the screaming she did (SPOILER: She screams a lot). But the villain that was über-creepy was Sam Spruell as her brother, Finn. Man. If I think too hard about him, I may have nightmares.

As a downside, the film attempted to give Ravenna and Finn some backstory, and it just didn’t work for me. They explained a tiny part of how they came to be their current creepy selves (and why Ravenna is so obsessed with being “fairest of them all”), but the limited explanation only made me ask a whole bunch of other questions that were not answered. I almost wish they had left the whole backstory a mystery.

A Sympathetic Look at the Huntsman

CHECK. Chris Hemsworth was roguishly endearing as a drunken town brawler mourning the loss of his wife. It was easy to understand why he made a deal with Ravenna, and then why he changed his mind. And I was definitely rooting for him as he slowly discovered a cause worth fighting for.

Maybe a Touch of Romance

It was there, but only in the tiniest doses. Actually, I would have liked there to be a bit more, and I think my emotions went against the intended trajectory. The title “Snow White and the Huntsman” leads me to believe I was supposed to be rooting for that pairing, but I’m a purist. I wanted her to be with William. So I wasn’t completely satisfied there. But only by the tiniest margin.

Not Too Much from KStew

Okay, I will say this for Kristen Stewart, and that is that this role is a vast improvement over Bella. I don’t know if it’s because of the writing or her acting, but I bought her as Snow White much more than I do as Bella Swan. Then again, most of her role in this movie was to look awed and innocent, or terrified. She did both pretty well. There’s one part where she has to give an impassioned speech, and I wasn’t sold, but G said he bought it. And I’ve already mentioned the awkward horse-riding and sword-wielding, but again, the character was supposed to have been locked in a tower alone for many years. It’s understandable that she wasn’t the best rider or fighter.

Entertainment

CHECK. I was never bored in this film. I got excited in some parts, I internally cheered in some parts, and I mentally fist-pumped several times. Of course, outwardly, I was calm and stoic.

Unlike the lady next to me, who was kind of FREAKING OUT for the entire movie, which also increased my entertainment value. She nearly fell out of her chair at one of the aforementioned bow-and-arrow sequences. It was pretty fun.

Other Stuff

The principal actors all delivered in their roles.

The only one I was slightly disappointed in that I haven’t mentioned yet was Bob Hoskins as the elderly blind prophetic dwarf. I understood that he was “seeing” and understanding the events with a sense of hope and wonder, but he kept delivering his lines like he was a little bit loopy. And considering I love Bob Hoskins (particularly his roles in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook), I think he could have done better. Maybe that was just a case of poor direction.

I loved the conflicted nature of The Huntsman and the devotion of William. I loved that the dwarfs were not cartoonish or silly. I loved the beautiful fantasy world they lived in, and I loved the deeper (but not too deep) look into the story of Snow White. Yes, there were some plot holes and some parts that just didn’t make much sense (where did that horse come from?), but it’s a fairy tale and I was okay with not everything being perfectly explained.

And as for the stuff we didn’t expect? It wasn’t there. But we didn’t expect it to be, so we weren’t disappointed that it wasn’t in there.

Overall, we both highly enjoyed this film for what it was: A beautiful, exciting, and entertaining new approach to a familiar tale.

Grade: B+

As a bonus, here’s some of the trailers that played in front of the movie. I’m only linking the ones for movies I actually want to see. (And no, sadly, they didn’t show the Breaking Dawn Part 2 trailer, teaser or otherwise. Sad.)

The Bourne Legacy. Okay, I think I’m just wired differently from the rest of humanity, because while I liked the other Bourne movies (and loved the first one), I was never all gaga over Matt Damon as an action hero. I know, I know, something is wrong with me.

Matt Damon as an actor, yes. I like him a lot. And he did a great job in the Bourne films. But he just never screamed ACTION SUPERSTAR to me, and therefore, I wasn’t at all upset when I heard they were continuing the Bourne franchise without him.

Of course, at the time, I didn’t really think of Jeremy Renner as an action superstar either (I had only seen him in The Town and that one episode of Angel), so when I saw his casting, I was like, “Oh, okay.”

But then I saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. And then I saw The Avengers. And now I am all, “YES, Jeremy Renner, I will watch you punch faces and shoot things (preferably arrows) all the live-long day.” So I am pretty pumped about this one.

Les Misérables. I have been waiting for them to adapt this musical into a movie for…hm, ever. I’ve loved the music since I was a little girl listening to the highlights soundtrack. I’ve seen the show live four or five times. And I cry every time I see this trailer, so I predict I will be crying for the majority of the movie. It looks stunning. I absolutely can’t wait.

Step Up Revolution. I haven’t seen any of the other Step Up movies, but I’m a So You Think You Can Dance addict, and Kathryn McCormick is my all-time favorite female alumnus. I’m not expecting this to be a “good movie,” but I’m expecting some awesome dancing. And seriously, does anyone really go to see a Step Up movie expecting to see groundbreaking cinema?

Brave. I’ll admit, I’m actually not blown away by this trailer. But before you tar and feather me, let me just say I haven’t been blown away by any Pixar trailer, ever (okay, maybe the Wall-E trailer is pretty awesome). I think trailer-making is the weak link in the Pixar arsenal. But the movies themselves are always amazingly good, and I’ve heard Brave is no exception.

Book to Film: The Hunger Games

Posted on March 28, 2012 by TheHouseworkCanWait

A lot of the books I read eventually become movies. Sometimes I read the book first, sometimes I see the movie first. Sometimes I see the movie because I read the book, and vice versa. So I thought it may be fun to talk about the film adaptations of the books I’ve read.

And what better film to kick it off than the one currently dominating the box office, The Hunger Games?

If you want to brush up on the basic plot, you can read my review. But if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, you probably don’t want to keep going. Because I’m about to get into spoiler territory, which means you’re about to get either lost or annoyed.

CAST

For the most part, I thought the casting was spot-on. Jennifer Lawrence was a perfect Katniss, Josh Hutcherson was a charming and empathetic Peeta, Amandla Stenberg broke my heart as Rue, Lenny Kravitz was a cool and composed Cinna.

It probably helps that I read the books after the movie had been principally cast, so even though I wasn’t very familiar with a lot of the actors portraying the leads, I at least had their images in my mind when reading. And because I was aware of who was cast when I was reading, I can honestly say that for the most part, the casting, makeup, and wardrobe department did an excellent job of making the actors look the way Suzanne Collins describes the characters.

There were only a few characters where the casting surprised me. None of the actors were bad (Wes Bentley in particular was pretty impressive) — just not what I pictured from reading the book. These included:

Toby Jones as Claudius Templesmith. (Couldn’t find a picture of him in character – sorry). I pictured someone boisterous and imposing, to go with his big, booming voice. I’m not actually sure if he’s given a physical description in the book. I just pictured him having a very dominating physical presence. But they reduced Claudius’ character to a very minor one in the film (I think mostly to bolster the role of Seneca Crane, which is a creative decision I agree with), and Toby Jones did a fine job with what he was given.

Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane. You have to understand, Seneca Crane is barely even a character in the first book. He’s not even given a name until the second book, and he has very little written about him. I’m nearly positive there is no physical description given. So for some reason, I pictured him as middle-aged and portly. No idea why. However, probably to give the events of the second book/film more weight, the filmmakers expanded the role of Seneca Crane in the film, and Wes Bentley was excellent in the role. He had very few lines, but conveyed quite a bit with his eyes and expressions.

Isabelle Fuhrman as Clove. This is the only bit of casting that I’m positive went completely against the physical description given in the book. In the book, Clove has an imposing physical presence, and is much bigger than Katniss. There’s a scene in the book where Katniss climbs a tree, and Clove can’t follow her because she’s so much larger than Katniss. Isabelle is noticeably smaller than Jennifer Lawrence. That said, Isabelle Fuhrman had every bit of the character’s personality spot on, and delivered all her lines and actions exactly how I imagined Clove would. She just didn’t look like her. But I’m not a stickler for actors having to exactly match physical descriptions in books. I’d much rather they act like the characters than look like them. So I was totally fine with this change.

PLOT

As far as book-to-movie adaptations go, The Hunger Games was one of the most faithful ones I’ve ever seen. All the main plot points were there. There were some omissions and alterations from the book, obviously. It’s necessary when condensing an almost-400-page book down to a 2.5 hour movie.

Some of the changes didn’t bother me – the elimination of the characters of Madge and the Avox girl; the shortening of the Games themselves; the addition of the scenes with President Snow, Seneca Crane, and the Gamemakers; the lack of mention of the eyes of the mutts at the end; the fact that Peeta (it would seem) doesn’t have his leg amputated after the conclusion of the Games. I thought those changes helped make the story watchable and understandable, especially for people who hadn’t read the books.

Others irked me just a tad. [Major spoilers ahead. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Twice.]

There’s a scene in the book where the Career tributes leave a girl for dead in the woods, but a cannon (signaling her death) never sounds. Peeta volunteers to go check and finish her off. He’s gone an unusually long time. Finally, he returns and then the cannon sounds. The Careers (and Katniss, who is observing it all from her hiding place) all assume Peeta killed her. But this is also when they’re all assuming that Peeta is helping them hunt down Katniss, when in fact, he’s trying to protect her.

I’ve always been curious what actually happened between Peeta and that girl. It doesn’t seem to be in his character to go and kill a wounded girl. Did he simply wait with her until she died? Did he try to help her? It’s never explained in the books. Since Suzanne Collins collaborated on the screenplay, I was hoping it would be addressed in the movie. But the whole scene is omitted.

The other scene that was left out of the movie that really irked me was the exchange between Katniss and Peeta at the very end of the book. That conversation is the catalyst for some major developments between them in Catching Fire. It changes their entire relationship. And they left it out of the movie.

There is a conversation, and the gist of the original conversation is kind of maybe implied. But in the book, they both state their feelings quite bluntly, and in the movie, it’s all subtlety. I wish it had been blunt.

Other than those two notable exceptions, I thought the adaptation was extremely well done. It was obvious that Gary Ross, the actors, and the crew were trying their best to respect the books and their message.

FILMING

I’ll be honest – there was a lot of shaky cam. It kind of irked me at first.

But.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt that it was adding to the sense of unease, of wrongness, of the feeling that this world was not good, pretty, or comfortable. And that’s exactly how it’s supposed to feel.

It didn’t feel like a big, glossy action movie where the bad guys blow things up and the attractive hero always escapes by the skin of her teeth. It felt gritty and dirty and upsetting.

Speaking of dirt, I know there are some nay-sayers out there that think it wasn’t gritty and dirty and upsetting enough. But just because people are poor and in a desperate situation doesn’t automatically turn them into cavemen. They can still practice basic hygiene and grooming habits. They can still clean their small, ill-equipped houses. So I was totally okay with the overall look of the movie.

The violence was a big concern for a lot of movie-goers. After all, it’s kids killing kids. How on earth would anyone want to watch that? But much like in the book, where Katniss is observing the violence in bits and pieces as she focuses on trying to keep herself alive, a lot of the violence takes place in quick snippets or off-camera. It’s not downplayed. You definitely feel that these events are not right. But it’s also not gratuitous. It’s not glorifying violence. I thought it was handled well.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS

If I had to pick one, I’d still say I enjoyed the book more than the film. But this is definitely one of my favorite book-to-film adaptations, especially in the Young Adult genre. I thought the story came across loud and clear. The sets, costumes, and makeup were perfect. The acting was fantastic. If I had my druthers, it would have been about 30 minutes longer, but I know that a 3-hour film based on a book directed at teenagers is just not something studios are interested in doing. All in all, it was great to see a book I love brought to life so faithfully in the theater.

Grade: A

The Hunger Games is rated PG-13 for intense violent thematic material and disturbing images – all involving teens.