Movie Review
A fable with a twist
Everyone I know has a special relationship with fairy tales. Those were the first stories we heard and the first books we read. Our childhood days were spent flipping through the pages of those classic tales by Brothers Grimm and gazing dreamily at the vivid illustrations till we knew the characters by heart. Each story was different but similar in a way. There was always a "happily ever after" ending where the evil was defeated and the virtuous prevailed. The prince always came to the rescue of the hapless princess, bestowed with all the beauty and virtue under the sun. By now you can tell how much I loved those fables. If you happen to be like me you should think twice before heading off to a cinema to watch "Mirror Mirror", which is supposed to be a light-hearted entertaining version of Grimm's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". I cannot figure out why the movie marketeers claimed that "The Snow White legend comes Alive", in its latest adaptation. If anything, it is a sure attempt to strangle the legend to death. There are no glass coffins and the poisoned apple does not make an appearance until the end of the movie. The dwarfs do not dig for gold either but are bandits (with compressible stilts on their feet) who rob the rich. Their names have also been changed to Napoleon, Half Pint, Grub, Grimm, Wolf, Butcher and Chuckles, which might make you Grumpy. The lovely Snow White (Lily Collins) with her snow-white skin, blood-red lips and ebony-black hair has also lost her naiveté. Not only does she cook and clean but this new sword-wielding princess also punches her Prince (Armie Hammer) in the face and breaks his nose! Mirror Mirror ends up being a mixed bag. The screenplay by Marc Klein and Jason Keller rewrites the fairy tale convention that finds every damsel helplessly imperiled until a prince rescues her from danger. The Prince himself gets saved by a kiss from the princess, who is far from defenceless. Like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Mirror Mirror tampers with the original which could be detrimental as the narrative fails to enchant with its political correctness. A few scenes like the one in which the Prince turns into a whimpering puppy after ingesting "Puppy Love Potion" or the one in which the Queen's manservant and official bootlicker, Brighton (Nathan Lane) turns into a "Cockroach" were included purely for ridiculous comic relief. However, such scenes tend to lower the quality of the film. The script writers also went over the top in their effort to sound funny, resulting in some excruciatingly unfunny lines that made it very hard to sit till the end of the movie. However, the archetypal power of the stepmother-daughter, age-beauty conflict is present throughout the movie. Julia Roberts outshines everyone as the jealous queen while the newcomer Lily Collins, daughter of the singer Phil Collins, is a convincing foil for the jealous Queen, personifying intelligence, innate goodness and beauty. Director Tarsem Singh does not disappoint visually. One scene after another is a sensation of colour and costumes. However, Singh's singular knack of impressing the audience with a grand spectacle sometimes overwhelms the characters and stops the story cold. I am referring to the scene where he indulges in the puppets sequence which seemed absolutely unnecessary. Nevertheless, if vivid production design and some laughs are what you desire you will not be disappointed. The script still has heart and means to entertain children with its creativity. Amidst the twists in the tale remains the earnest tale of a girl who falls in love with her prince.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments