Mirror, Mirror as you may, most likely, already know is a retelling of a the Snow White fable, with a few new innovative adjustments to the story. The reference to Stewart of course refers to the second Snow White film which is to follow later this year, while Stewart's takes on a darker, brooding concept, Mirror Mirror bathes in a mash-up of romance, comedy, and caper. This will be one of its downfalls, it doesn't know what it wants to be.
There were many elements going for it, the costume and set design is spectacular, fantastical, and whimsical, everything you would crave from a fairytale. The dresses of the two leads, The Queen and Snow White were particularly impressive, each costume change expressing their character and providing a indicative motif for the viewer. The Queen was ostentatious, Snow White was innocent, decent, and fair.
It was refreshingly tongue-in-cheek. The sarcastic pinging gleam of teeth punctuates the smaltz so as to prevent the audience from lapsing into a sugar coma.
The few narrative additions were surely an attempt to give the Snow White tale relatability for those who aren't fans of princess-romances. The seven dwarves were given motivation in life beyond their lust of Snow White; Prince Charming was given a personality; and to make The Queen really wicked beyond her hatred and neglect of her step-daughter, the film made sure to show the poverty-stricken subjects of the kingdom, whose only hope is, you guessed it, Snow White.
All the elements are there for a successful and enjoyable film, but Mirror, Mirror has spun itself a web too big. It fails to control all these subplots and bring them together as a cohesive entity.
It's disappointing, particularly when the opening is deliciously good. The Queen is narrating over a brief animated summary of the last sixteen years, and we are led to believe this is going to be her story. This is a ploy to lure you in to a false sense of intrigue. Because the apparent focus on Julia Roberts's fantastically wicked Queen bitch is soon overshadowed by Lily Collins's pathetic protagonist. Talk about casting actresses with no emotional dimension as Snow White. Sure she looks the part, but it was if she just copied the Snow White from the original Disney animation. She lacked the endearing passion that is so intrinsic to carrying a film.
Unfortunately for me, this cinema outing lacked the promised fairytale quality. Had the story stuck with the Queen it may have been saved.
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