Reel Inspiration #1: Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White is a retelling of the classic fairytale. With a twist. This version is darker, more gothic. Perhaps, taking its cue from Snow White’s famous features (hair as black as the raven, skin as white as snow, and lips as red as the rose), the movie has a wintery feel to it. I noticed that there’s always a slight grayish cast throughout the film interspersed with a little bit of color. The more colorful scenes are subdued; they never get very crisp and vibrant.

Take a look at a few screenshots I took of the film:

This is one of the brighter scenes in the movie.

Another 'brighter' scene.

All of the elements of the original fairytale are here: the dwarves, the dark forest, the animals, the enchanted mirror, and of course, the poisoned apple.

In the movie, there are three main characters: the huntsman, the Evil Queen, and Snow White. These characters were portrayed by Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, and Kristen Stewart, respectively.

I don't think Sam Claflin as Prince William was a major character. His was simply a supporting role.
Picture sourced from: http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/24100000/Snow-White-and-the-Huntsman-Promos-snow-white-and-the-huntsman-24106400-1235-1280.jpg

Casting Charlize Theron as the evil Queen Ravenna was a wise choice. The role called not only for a woman who had no conscience, but one who was also emotionally damaged, high strung, insecure, and yet, for all her wickedness, possessed an air of vulnerability. On all counts, Charlize Theron delivered. The only thing that slightly put me off was her on and off ‘British accent’ throughout the film. There were instances when she seems to not have one and scenes when her accent is a bit overblown (I won’t tell you what parts these are just in case you haven’t watched the film yet. =P)

Picture sourced from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/06/01/why-snow-white-and-the-huntsman-is-like-willow-but-not-as-good/

Chris Hemsworth was another good casting choice. As the huntsman, he portrayed both the bitter drunkard and the endearing swash buckling hero with ease.

Last, and definitely the least, is Kristen Stewart. As Snow White, she was a let-down. Truth be told, I’m frustrated for her. This movie could have been the perfect vehicle to show off her acting chops.  This could have been her chance to prove her mettle alongside Oscar heavy-weight, Charlize. This could have been her chance to prove her critics wrong about the range of her acting. But she let this chance slip away. I had high hopes for her in the beginning of the movie since her acting in the first half, although not spectacular, was okay; but THAT speech she gave to rouse the crowd was the rotten apple that poisoned everything. It’s inconceivable for her to rouse anyone with that speech given her acting and delivery. And her transformation to warrior princess, complete with battle gear, was a stretch since she only got one fighting lesson from the huntsman, and that’s it. Her range of expressions is severely limited. Those instances when she’s supposed to be serious or brooding? Well, to put it mildly, she looks like she’s suffering from indigestion. All of this is such a shame because Kristen is so lovely. I find that she has a very unique beauty, sort of rock and roll-ish. Perhaps with a bit more help and an acting coach, she could improve.

That super awkward scene...sigh.

Well, at least she's lovely.

Another notable thing was the film’s feminist slant. Queen Ravenna had a line in the early part of the movie about women and aging. She said that as long as a woman is young and beautiful, the world is hers. The message about this unhealthy focus and obsession on youth and physical appearance would have been more powerful had Kristen not dallied with the director of the movie, Rupert Sanders. What’s sadder is that the woman who portrayed Kristen’s mother as Queen Eleanor was none other than the director’s wife in real life, Liberty Ross. So I guess, in the case of the director, Queen Ravenna was right: he would have exchanged his wife and the mother of his two children for someone younger and prettier.

Liberty Ross as Queen Eleanor, Snow White's mommy.

Beauty-wise, one of the things that I truly liked in this movie was the play on contradictions. If you look at their features, tow-headed Charlize has the features of spring (light colored hair, light eyes) which is the season for rebirth. Raven-haired Kristen is classic winter (dark hair, fair skin) which is the season for dormancy and hibernation. Yet in the movie, Queen Ravenna symbolized decay and Snow white symbolized renewal.

This carried on with their makeup throughout the movie. Queen Ravenna never sported red lips, that was Snow White’s domain. Perhaps, to symbolize her darkness, she always had smoky eyes done in charcoals and grays paired with nude lips. The only variation in her look was in the beginning of the film when she wore gold-ish eye color and warm pink lips.

Queen Ravenna when she was still innocent...just kidding! This was one of her softer and 'kinder' looks in the film.

Snow White, on the other hand, is supposed to be naturally stunning. Hence, her makeup must be seamless and never obvious. Her look was the exact opposite of Queen Ravenna’s: reddish lips, flushed cheeks, and light, warm brown with just a touch of copper/ orange on her eyes.

As homage to Snow White, I opted to go for Kristen’s look. I used a reddish pink lip stain, warm light red blush color, matte warm brown shadow for eye contour and shimmery golden brown shade for accent. Lots of mascara, dot-lining and a well-defined brow completed the look.

Here are swatches of the products I used:

From left to right: pinkish-gold shadow base, warm medium brown for contour, shimmery gold/copper for accent, black liner, warm light red blush, and reddish pink lip stain.

Another shot of the eye shadow base used.

As a final note, I personally wouldn't pair this look with such coppery/orange-ish eye shades next time. Neutral browns or taupes would look better on me I think. The film’s makeup artist must have selected such a warm, orangey palette for Kristen since her eyes are a beautiful gray-green, and anything with a reddish cast makes them stand out. On me, with my generic dark brown eyes, it was a touch too strong along with the reddish lips and flushed cheeks.

This is it for now. Cheerio!

P.S. A friend told me that HBO is currently showing this movie. Try to catch it if you can. For all my complaints about Kristen, this is still a good movie. The soundtrack itself is worth the purchase. Composed by James Howard with a track from Ioanna Gika and Florence + The Machine, this is the perfect music to accompany a gothic fairytale. To me, the music has enough lightness to portray the presence of wonder and hope, and enough darkness to embody the presence of decay and dark magic.