Movie: Mirror Mirror
Release Date: March 30
Studio: Relativity Media
Grade: C
Snow Whitereturned to film form and this time she isn't just a helpless princess. Armed with martial arts moves and the confidence to match, Snow White has been transformed into a modern-day action hero.
Lily Collins (Abduction) stars as Snow White in Tarsem Singh's (Immortals) adaptation of this well-known fairytale. Mirror Mirror follows Snow White on her quest to return her father's kingdom to the singing and dancing home she once knew and she enlists the help of the visiting Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer, J. Edgar) to take down the evil Queen (Julia Roberts, Larry Crowne).
Roberts, Hammer, and Collins were, for the most part, well cast for their characters. Collins portrays the sweet, innocent Snow White before smoothly transforming into the kick-butt, day-saving hero she becomes halfway into the film.
The charming and handsome Hammer makes being a prince look as easy as taking off his shirt, which is how he is seen most of the movie. His character is somewhat pathetic in this version, and the rebels (better known as the seven dwarfs) manage to rob him of his clothing twice.
The Prince also easily falls for the Queen's spell and needs to be rescued by Snow White and her rebels, a rather pathetic situation that greatly diminishes the toughness of his character. However, Hammer fulfills this role well as he doesn't appear to be too proud to lose a battle every once in a while.
Roberts is the only character in question. She is more commonly seen with a sweet persona, and this notion is hard to shake when she becomes a wicked queen. The Queen's character is tough and mean, but not to the point where she is convincingly horrible. Her lines are intended to come off as comedic, which undercuts any amount of evil there might have been to her character.
There are numerous details of Mirror Mirror that Singh uses to bring the fairytale up to date. Nicknames are the norm today and in the film, Snow White becomes just "Snow." The dwarfs, called rebels because they fight against both the village and the Queen by stealing what they can, have names far removed form out childhood tales. Rebranded as Napoleon, Half Pint, Grub, Grimm, Wolf, Butcher, and Chuckles, these seven little men are reinvented.
The magic mirror that the Queen uses to fulfill her vanity is no longer just a talking mirror. It is now an alternate dimension that transports the Queen into her very own hut in which she can see her alter-ego in any mirror.
Another added detail is that there is now another evil force to contend with - a forest dwelling beast. Created by the Queen to rid the realm of undesirables, this addition turns out to be a pleasant twist that makes the ending more memorable than the original tale.
Snow White is an extremely proactive character rather than the helpless girl that she was once known as. She wields a sword and does flips rather than relying on a man to rescue her. The film originally starts as the Queen's story, but is shifted to Snow's as she tries to take over the kingdom meant to be hers.
One downfall to the film is that it is visually conflicting. The costumes are amazing while the scenery and staging fall short. The women wear beautifully crafted dresses with the Queen always clothed in gold and red to reflect her royal, yet evil persona. Snow White opens the movie in soft pastels to compliment her quiet and obedient nature. Later she joins the rebels in battle dressed in a bold blue top with black pants.
The castle is elegant, yet simple and it feels as though something is missing with its visual construction. There is little complexity to the scenes which ends up giving the film an overall eerie feel.
One scene in particular appears random and out of place. The Queen's alter-ego comes out of her mirror to pursue an attack on Snow and the rebels. She does so by controlling puppets that magically show up at the rebel's home in the woods, which is odd because there is no prior indication in the film that gives the alter ego such power.
Mixing a modern day tone and the innocence of the original creates a muddled concept that, combined with the drawbacks of the setting and confusing action, disrupt the overall vision that Singh has tried to portray with this film.
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