Review: Snow White & the Huntsman (a film by Rupert Sanders, 2012)

In a cinematic retelling of the classic fairy-tale Snow White directed by Rupert Sanders and released to the public in 2012, grand narrative liberties were taken. In my view, these liberties, rather than making the tale less like a fairy-tale (as the promotional tagline suggests: "This is no fairy-tale"), actually makes the story all the more a fairy-tale in its truest form. That is, an explicitly violent, traumatic, and even horrific exposition, its mise-en-scene the historical wound that gapes open as poverty, crime, and sickness (albeit here presented in the vague space which occupies the Middle Ages in the Western world) and presenting us with all that has been happening in the contemporary world but on the sidelines; those left to rot beyond time, the decaying remnants of capital... and they are all costumed again in this iteration as the Gothic and medieval persisting in the fray of a haunted social and cultural landscape (towers and arches, walls of smoothed rock, twisted stairwells, and endless muddy cobblestone).

Snow White & the Huntsman points audiences to the main character we've been needing to pay attention to all along: not Snow White, but the evil, vain witch turned corrupt Queen (brilliantly played by Charlize Theron), terrified of losing her deceitful political power by the hands and, importantly, heart of an innocent, just, pure, and kind Princess. Without political prowess, the Queen is devoid of life, hanging onto a semblance of it only through madness (i.e. insanity), deep, failing regret, and simmering schemes of a narcissism without actual foundation (or, crumbling ones). The Queen's mirror, it seems, is such an important symbol from the story's earliest telling that it could not be altered within this retelling, even for a 21st century reinterpretation.

Out of the mirror, which is a concave, round, gong looking mirror with many ripples within it like an enlarged hi-hat drum forged out of gold, comes a being that melts heavily into the room, sheathed in melted metal that clings and drips to his non-body like a heavy, otherworldly cloak, or something that arose from the very center of the Earth like iron. The Queen, to give her confidence a boost every now and again, must ask the well-known line: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all? Shouldn't we be shocked that the mirror has answered her possibly billions of times with a You are the fairest my Queen? But we aren't. We aren't shocked because we know how the Queen operates, even if we only know it subconsciously. Here, we can understand "fair" as not only the color of skin, but the type, kind, and model of rule the Queen wants to uphold. It is fundamental that we understand that this vain Queen questions and challenges the "good", the morally "sound", the "innocent" and the "pure" with conviction because she knows that there is power in an equality that has the ability to punish, discipline, and "tame" all that knows not who its observer, guardian, or its sovereign is (i.e. its' God, for lack of a better word). And so, she assumes the role of observer, guardian, and sovereign, preying on the naivety and gullibility of the child-like within the most vulnerable of humans. Unfortunately, for this tale, this means the dire struggle of the true Princess and Queen, Snow White.

What is so amazing about this movie, as a visual masterpiece, is how they depict the Queen as she literally steals power from unsuspecting victims (her victims know she is evil, yet they do not know its machinations). She likes, or rather, she preys on the young for their vigor, stealing the organic power of a brave heart only by laying her fingers on one's chest and sucking its inherent qualities through her fingers, breathing in the life of a beautiful girl by telepathically opening her mouth wide by means of reflection and inhaling like a beast its fresh and still peacefully yearning inspiration.

After each kill, the Queen's beauty is restored, as well as her drive to lead, truly making herself into a tyrant. At times when she finds herself waning, she yells like an angry hound (Theron deserves a gold star for her sheer talent in portraying the madness of an "old hag", as the Huntsman deems her character), grabbing at straws (but namely her pitifully devoted brother) to reclaim her decrepit seat on a eternally dying throne. Ultimately, she has no power if not for her prey.

Early on in the movie, the true King's war with the mysterious, black army taking advantage of his sorrow after the passing of the true Queen (i.e. Snow White's mother), we see some of what the Queen herself is made of: shards. Shards of broken black glass, or broken black Tourmaline (a black crystal), or shards of the crystal Kyanite in its darkest form. Incapable of feeling the real wounds of a human, these enemies shatter and splinter, crack and splinter similar to bones. But these are not bones, there is no marrow, no meat. Only millions of reflections in every which way, blinding to the eye of beholder, knowing no end but an endless explosion of splinters that become tinier and tinier until made of the blackest ash. A formidable enemy that is able to feign neutrality and display its movement when actually there is none.

The key to killing such a thing, as Snow White learns, is by aiming and harming before the being turns to shards. She destroys the Queen, at the very end, by driving a very small knife into the Queen while she still occupies the realm of flesh and blood. The huntsman helped teach her this.

Huntsman: Here I want to show you something. (He hands Snow White a knife.) Which is your lead foot? Now, if someone comes at you, you lift this arm up and you block, and use your strength against him. Now, you're small, so wait until they're close, and you drive it through their heart until they hilt. You understand? Do not hesitate. And you look in their eyes. And do not pull out until you see their soul.

Snow White: I couldn't do that.

Huntsman: Well you might not have a choice.

(Indeed, Snow White pulls the knife out of the evil Queen's body a little too soon, which might explain the fact that there is a sequel.)

For comparison, Snow White herself is worth discussing. I believe she is presented here as an exemplary of the natural world, the organic world, and its merging with nurture and that humanly emotion of love. The animals adore her, the fey adore her, the dwarves learn to adore her, and the Huntsman does too. They believe she is the answer to healing the land, the land which, once under the Queen's rule, became subject to poison and toxicity and finally terminal illness, becoming chimera and host to devilish games all at once.

This is most explicitly seen in the Black Forest, taking the weakness from those who wander into it and gaining its strength in the creation of mutating facades. But Snow White, now protected by the Huntsman, is able to express herself, finally, as she stumbles into the Sanctuary of the Fey. The Princess (played wonderfully by Kristen Stewart) makes the job look easy, but to truly, genuinely tame a Stag, or even a fierce Troll, is not an easy task at all. It requires a knowing heart, developed grace, and a propensity to understand the pain of all those Other than herself. Once they see these qualities in her, they succumb, comprehending that she and she alone is the true Queen. How's that for a fairy-tale?

While I have plenty more to extrapolate from Snow White & the Huntsman, I feel its best I leave it there, especially because, despite the reality that things do indeed end badly from time to time, I always love a happy ending, no matter how redundant, no matter how cliche. I truly appreciate this visual rendering of the centuries old tale and even more its redeveloped narrative. I'm very grateful for all the special effects in contemporary film - well, at least in this very special case - as it has helped me understand how evil and all things beneath compassion might play out on both the symbolic and actual level.