In March when I reviewed this year’s other Snow White film, Mirror Mirror, I mentioned that I completely understand an actress’s desire to play Snow White’s Wicked Queen. She’s a baddie for the ages. In both Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman, the quest for physical beauty consumes and ultimately destroys the Wicked Queen. In Mirror Mirror, the journey was as goofy and over-the-top as the wonderfully outrageous costumes. In Snow White and the Huntsman, the quest is as dark as the deathly haunting art direction. Snow White and the Huntsman is dark and grim, as the Brother’s Grimm intended, a peek into dark souls motivated by hatred and revenge. Charlize Theron as Ravenna—the girl who would be queen—takes her bite of the apple in a movie that is heavy with gravitas; visually reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and grounded in a strangely convincing world of mysticism, fairies, magic, and faith.
