"You Can't Have My Heart": A Review of Snow White and the Huntsman

SPOILER ALERT

Prepare for a dark twist on the classic fairy tale.

Rupert Sanders' updated version of the fair-skinned beauty with dark hair is entertaining, twisted, eerie, and an altogether interesting viewing.

The usual elements are there - we have a wicked queen, Ravenna, played to the hilt by Charlize Theron, who has tricked her way into the kingdom. Her dark power, shape-shifting, and penchant for sucking the youth out of the local women keeps the kingdom in a state of fear and starvation. We have the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), a man who is grieving the death of his wife by drinking and getting in pub fights. Ravenna hires him to track Snow White into the Forbidden Forest. And with that, of course, we have Snow White, Ravenna's stepdaughter and rightful heir to the throne, played by a surprisingly-alert Kristen Stewart. This is one damsel-in-distress who is much more than we're led to believe, and as the film builds we find out more about her OWN supernatural power.

Visually, the film is a feast. Sanders grants viewers sweeping views of hillsides, castles, and forbidden forests only to zoom in and note three single drops of blood falling to the ground. Ravenna's dresses are stunning in their detailing. The special effects involving Ravenna's dialogue with her golden mirror are spectacular - pay special attention to the techniques used to "age" and "de-age" the Queen. The trek inside the Forbidden Forest might bother younger viewers, as there are a number of hallucinations, but these are pretty well-executed.

Charlize is perfectly cast as the wicked queen who will go to whatever lengths necessary - including bathing in milk and eating the hearts of birds - to preserve her beauty. The director gives us a tiny flashback to explain her desperation, and we start to understand the insecure girl behind the witch. It may have been more effective to keep Ravenna a cold beauty who seldom flies off the handle, as evil under control is sometimes more frightening than constant explosions, but it's done effectively.

Kristen Stewart's acting is on par - I was pleasantly surprised by her English accent. You won't find much Bella Swan here (although a certain scene involving Snow White and a rather nasty troll gave me New Moon flashbacks). The film sets her character up to be a shrinking violet but uses devices such as dwarves and fairies to show that she's much more powerful than we'd expect. Snow becomes more and more a Christ-figure of sorts, as she's persecuted by Ravenna for her beauty and purity of heart and people who remain in her presence find all their aches and maladies mysteriously vanish. As one dwarf puts it, "She is life itself. She will heal our land." The Christ-parallel is finally realized as Snow is killed by Ravenna (using a poisoned apple, of course) only to resurrect a short time later as a strong, courageous warrior who leads her people in a final revolt against Ravenna.

Overall the film is strong, but the pacing was the biggest concern. Between sword fights that are drawn out and dwarves who are fun, interesting supporting characters but are given far too much screen time, you're left wondering "what was the point?" There's also an odd encounter between Snow White and a white stag for which we're given no context. There's a massive swell in the music, slow-motion camera work, ... and suddenly it has the feeling of the Pevensie children meeting Aslan for the first time. We're not told who this stag is or why he's "blessing" Snow... it's a drive-by plot point. Those should be outlawed. Snow and the Huntsman develop some attraction to each other but it isn't quite flushed out, which I think was a smart choice. After all, it's not a love story.

The themes of the film speak largely about the definition and price of beauty, redemption, purity etc. The message of the film appears to be that true beauty comes from our character. When we offer our true God-given beauty, not just as women but as people, it's healing and freeing rather than manipulative and draining. I was also reminded of the ways that we as people feed off of each other to build up our own value. How often do we push others out of the way in order to build our own images? It's a chilling tale, but one that needs to be told. Because of some partial nudity (the Queen's naked back), scary hallucinations, and drinking, as well as other mature themes, I wouldn't recommend young children see it. But if you can stomach a fairy tale spin on our modern beauty-driven society, highly recommended.

-Grace Marita

To Follow Actively

We're called to be active in faith. This has come from many mouths of many friends, pastors, book characters, and dancers in my life in the past several weeks, which usually means God's trying to show me a new dynamic in my walk with Him.

Really. Dancers?

:) Yup. I love that God uses so many things to teach us about Himself and draw us into Who He Is and how we're designed to relate to Him.

Last month I was part of a group that got dressed up in 1940s-era clothing and went to a MASSIVE swing dance in South St. Paul that was being held in an airplane hangar.

Yes, it was just as fun as it sounds.

I'm not a frequent swing-dancer by any means... but I do fall into the category of women who have that long-held fantasy of being whirled around the dance floor by a strong dance partner, high heels clicking and long flowing dress twirling. The night didn't disappoint. Every woman in our group was approached by several different men. (Thumbs up, assertive guys!!) I didn't know what I was doing half the time, but I learned eventually to follow where my partner was leading and trust him to catch me in a dip. The night ended on a high note, despite the rain and the hangar losing power for a bit.

My good friend (and great dancer, let's be honest) Jenna was at the dance, and the next night she decided to show us new steps. She took each girl in turn and demonstrated how to follow actively.

Wait a sec. Doesn't following mean that you go where he leads? Period, that's it? That's how I learned submission, anyway... Keep your head down, your mouth shut, and have no independent thoughts.

Not quite. We play a vital role! At times the woman needs to put her weight on the man in a certain way in order to make the spins tighter and the steps faster. If the man starts to spin the woman out, and she misses a signal and goes flying off into the crowd, it doesn't look pretty. I speak from experience :) Over the course of our impromptu dance lesson my perspective completely changed. Ladies, we're not called into marriage to be shrinking violets or limp partners. We have God-given strength as women, and we're called to be engaged with our faith walks, our ministries - or husbands. What does it mean to follow actively - it means being awake, in the moment, using our spiritual weight to offset and support our husbands! When two are moving in sync, with give and take and a sense of direction, that's the divine dance. And in fact, that's how we trust God as well. We lean on Him, trusting His direction and leading, and when He spins us out we can trust that He'll bring us back in. I like knowing that I fumble, drop things, trip over nothing at times, and He still takes my hand and brings me in for another spin. There's nothing I can do that will make God want to switch partners.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3)

Lean on HIS understanding. Not yours. Not mine. Lean on the love of a Father who saves us and then calls us to get involved!! There's nothing you can do that cause God to give up on you. If He's set His love on you, it's on you to stay. Wow. What a joy. What a powerful active God we have the privilege to follow! *Rock-step.*  Amen.