THE GRIMM BROTHER'S SNOW WHITE 1997
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
2 :-( :-( for an unhappy fairy tale and no dwarfs!
Cast : Sigourney Weaver, Sam Neill, Gil Bellows, Monica Keena Written by Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm Screenplay by Thomas E. Szollosi Deborah Serra
Hi Ho Hi Ho a merry way we go! Not any more. Get rid of the dwarfs and Snow White is left standing at the alter like a bride without bridesmaids. Make Snow White's love interest, one of the dwarfs instead of Prince Charming, and you may be wrongly accused of indulging in sick fantasies or reading too much ‘Hustler'. When in truth the Brothers' Grimm are too blame for not including these adorable little men in their very grim original, but instead using dirty, odd ball ruffians to help a girl out in need. Thanks, to Uncle Walt all this grim darkness is removed and instead we have a very happy, very gay version of enlightened, mirthful, sleepy, sneezy, grumpy, snotty etc etc midgets on the constant move protecting the girl child in desperate need of a tan.
Okay, so it's the original story, but it doesn't mean that it's the better version. To tell you the truth, I think this version sucks. But first I will tell you what I did like about it. I liked the fact that once upon a time, the Wicked Queen (Sigourney Weaver) was once a loving wife and mother, until she miscarries Lord Hoffman's (Sam Neil) son. Then a mixture of post natal psychosis and depression sets in resulting in her extreme hatred of the surviving first child (Snow White – Monica Keena) which is not hers. This helps us understand why she is sooooo jealous, plus the fact she's getting older, in desperate need of Hormone Replacement Therapy and a face-lift. Also, Snow White is a brat, and deserves to get scratched and humiliated – she just isn't a very nice little girl. So what didn't I like? I hated the fact that there were no dwarves, and the bunch of brigand miners who help Snow White have names that all begin with moron.
Sigourney Weaver shines in the role of the evil step-mother. Maybe it's because she has all that mothering experience from close encounters with ‘Alien' Queens that give her a bitchy edge. Her pale white complexion and fine facial features glow in the reflection of the mirror and there is no doubt ‘Who is the fairest of all'. Sam Neil is wasted in a bombastic, silly role of a weak male figure far too easily manipulated. Monca Keena, a relative new comer gives a very ordinary performance of the fairy tale princess. She looks too anaemic and is too hot headed to adequately portray a likeable Snow White.
This is definitely not the fairy tale you want to tell you're children about.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Tim+Voon http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~bouclier/week/movies.html
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