Expunged of its nursery school wonder and filled with young adult heartthrobs such as Kristen Stewart of ‘Twilight’ and Chris Hemsworth of ‘Thor’, the film is dressed up with so many elaborate action scenes, fantasy frights and visual effects that it’s more superhero story than classic children’s fable, all done with a girl-power spin. “You look around the corner, and you see that the circus has come to town,” Hemsworth said of all the chaos unfolding on the film’s set. “It’s an epic on a grand scale.” Director Rupert Sanders’ challenge was to inject the classic ‘Snow White’ story, with contemporary relevance without losing the narrative’s familiar centre. “It feels like it could be a girly film,” said Charlize Theron, who plays Ravenna. “But more than anything, it’s an action-adventure piece set in an epic landscape.” The story follows the essential contours of the legend. While there’s a poisoned apple and a prince’s magical kiss, the film’s tone is much more Brothers Grimm than Walt Disney. Snow White (Stewart) has been imprisoned by the murderous Queen (Theron), whose thirst for eternal life and beauty has made her far more vampiric than regal. When Snow White escapes, the Queen recruits the drunken Huntsman (Hemsworth) to retrieve her stepdaughter. Snow White runs into the forest and finds the woodlands both enchanting and foreboding. But it is Sanders’ use of visual effects, the work of 18 companies, that distinguishes ‘Snow White’ from this spring’s ‘Mirror Mirror,’ a much tamer and less expensive version of the same fable that fizzled. Perhaps the good vibes the cast shares also make the movie that much more interesting.
Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron have great off-screen chemistry. While the ‘Twilight’ actress has received bad press in the past when people mistook her timid nature for rudeness or conceit, her co-star had nothing but praise for her character.
“You know, a lot of people at that age can still be finding themselves. I’m pretty impressed with where she is already at her very young age,” Theron said. “And I have so much respect for someone who can just authentically be themselves.”