Genre: Fantasy
Director: Tarsem Singh
Writers: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (original story), Melissa Wallack and Jason Keller (screenplay)
Cast: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, Jordan Prentice, Mark Povinelli, Joe Gnoffo, Danny Woodburn, Sebastian Saraceno, Martin Klebba, Ronald Lee Clark
MPAA Rating: PG
Synopsis: An evil queen steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright.
Runtime: 106 min.
If your eyes could eat, you’d think you had landed in a visual bakery of expertly crafted delicacies with Mirror Mirror. Relativity Media begins the battle of the Snow White films with their family-friendly version, directed by Tarsem Singh. Singh’s reputation for creating stunning, jaw-dropping visuals is most definitely present throughout this film.
Mirror Mirror begins with the setting of the stage with Julia Roberts’ evil Queens telling the story of how Snow White was born, her mother dying in childbirth, her father doting on her, his marriage to the most fairest woman of the land (herself, of course) and his death in the Dark Forest. This story unfolds in an animated marionette fashion much like the tale of the Golden Army in Hellboy II.
Snow White (Lily Collins) is kept like a prisoner in the Castle under the rule of the Queen but she manages to escape for a day to see what has happened to her land since the Queen took over. You know how the tale progresses – the evil Queen wants Snow White dead to remain the fairest in all the land, Snow’s captor takes pity on her and releases her instead, and Snow meets the seven dwarves. The story gets crafty from there but maintains a light and comedic tone throughout.
The costuming by the late great, Oscar-winning costume designer Eiko Ishioka, dominates the film with over-the-top, opulent fabrics with fantastical shapes, rigid and architectural structure, and the most intricate detailing. Now, I am a costumer myself but even I found this visual palette overwhelming! Singh put all his visual eggs into one basket. Ishioka certainly delivered what was asked of her, but in my head I kept hearing Kaylee’s observation at the fancy ball she attended with Mal – ”They’re like butterflies, or little pieces of wrapping paper blowing around.”
These costumes are certainly beautiful but to move in any of the costumes of the court is nearly impossible! Though this is actually what Ishioka’s designs are known for – expertly crafted to achieve a look but not necessarily functional. The men, unfortunately, looked simply ridiculous (sorry, Sean Bean.) The only practical costumes were thankfully given the Prince, the dwarves, and Snow after she joins them.
Speaking of the dwarves, each one of those seven bandit dwarves stole the movie! The dwarves are (from left to right): the stylish Napoleon (Jordan Prentice), ever-hungry Grub (Joe Gnoffo), howling Wolf (Sebastian Saraceno), surly Butcher (Martin Klebba), clever Half Pint (Mark Povinelli), stalwart Grimm (Danny Woodburn), and funny Chuckles (Ronald Lee Clark). These actors served as the flavor for the entire film and carried the humor and emotional connection for the audience for Mirror Mirror.
Lily Collins plays a perfectly graceful, kind and delicately brave young princess but I get the feeling that her casting was purely for her likeness for the part. Armie Hammer gives a surprisingly solid and consistent performance as the dashing Prince Alcott. He is funny and charming all at the same time and it felt like his character kept the tempo of the film going. Julia Roberts’ evil Queen was not as much fun to watch as it could have been. Perhaps Roberts as an evil-doer is simply not believable? There isn’t much character development going on for anyone except Snow White’s tenuous foray into bravery but then again, that’s not what this film focuses on.
Tarsem Singh’s stamp of a stimulating visual quality is clear through the shooting and lighting of scenes, art direction and costuming. The entire film was shot on sound stages in Montreal for maximum control of any variable for Singh, but Mirror Mirror just did not have the same richness in surreal storytelling as his fantasy film, The Fall, in 2006. In that respect, I would highly prefer The Fall over Mirror Mirror.
As a footnote, Singh has appended an indulgent Bollywood song and dance number at the end of the film with a cover of Iranian singer Googoosh’s cover of a song called “I Believe in Love” written by American songwriter Nina Hart Griffiths. Lily Collins, though daughter of Phil Collins, had not sung professionally before but gave it a shot with this strange and out of place song. Let me tell you that this song won’t replace Disney’s “Whistle While You Work” for me but who knows how the young ‘uns will receive it!
Generally, this film was fun to watch but will not withstand multiple viewings (by an adult). I do not see this holding up like the Disney animated Snow White and the Seven Dwarves does. Watching Mirror Mirror is like eating a divinity. It’s light, airy, dissolves in your mouth, shock full of sweetness but not a filling bite to eat.
I give Mirror Mirror Three out of Five Stars.
