Enchanted A variation on the theme of the well-known fairy tale in an extremely free retelling from Tarsem Singh tries to retell Snow White in some modern language, moving away from the canons and bringing something new, but in fact it turns out to be even more banal, shamefully predictable and rather crumpled story.
Singh, no matter how much he released his works, never learned to make films, he always gets theatrical performances shot in four walls of an uncomfortable room with a regular change of cheap scenery. Once again forgetting about the characters and the story told, the pseudo-director tries to convince everyone that his vision is completely different and independent of the plots of the film. Focusing on awkward headdresses, vulgar and incredibly vulgar humor about men’s torsos and the absence of pants, exposing the laws of the fairy tale to ridicule, he shoots either theatrical or circus performance for the most naive and inexperienced viewer.
The fairy tale, however, must also be filmed skillfully, and sometimes still count on a global family audience of all ages. For some reason, this successfully happens in the first parts of “Harry Potter”, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, and Tim Barton in the amazingly beautiful “Alice”, but when Singh takes up the case, it turns out an absurd parody, not much different from the picture “Enchanted” and already mocked enough over the fairy tale of Snow White. And there is also a horror version of Snow White: A Scary Tale, but not with anyone, but with Sigourney Weaver and Sam Neal.
Not for nothing even the film in the original is called “Mirror, mirror”, and not “Snow White”, it originally laid this parody, freedom, absurdity and vulgarity in relation to the original source. However, free interpretations are sometimes successful, and good new findings and modern vision sometimes falls exactly into the goal, but this is of course about high-quality films and successful and bold directorial decisions.
The theme is moved along and across, but now in the era of multimillion-dollar colorful and spectacular blockbusters, the most classic adaptation, in all its beauty and splendor, would be ideal. Why it was necessary to mock the fabulous universe and its population is completely unclear. Apparently, they wanted the best, but it turned out Tarsem Singh.
Lily Collins looks very cute, both in the image of the beautiful Snow White, and on the part of the rebel with a sword, she is here, perhaps, the only one who is pleasant to look at. Enchanted by the prince (for unknown reasons, however), she sublimely and easily plays a naughty child, then a violent teenage girl (slapped with a sword on her ass for her antics by the same prince), and then a combat leader and future queen. Julia Roberts, apparently taken to mock her youth and the unforgettable “Pretty Woman”, poses first as the Red Queen of “Alice” Barton, ordering the execution of all in a row, and then even Lord Farquard from “Shrek”, expelling all “freaks” from their possessions. A sad sight of a fading star, but at least not as sad as watching the aforementioned Sigourney Weaver in the most ridiculous thrillers and comedies of our time.
Armie Hammer does not understand what he forgot in this absurd and sick fantasy, and he himself mocks the idiocy of caps and his hare ears. The actor does not attract either a prince, or a handsome person, or a generally worthy male character, caricatured depicting valor and courage and even more disgustingly grimace after a dog potion. To look at it nauseous and disgusting, but given Singh’s pronounced dislike for the characters of his Kagba films, all the worthless acting presentation of many images and platitudes are lubricated due to the shift of visual accents and uneven editing of scenes galloping around the events. And the resulting piano in the bushes Sean Bean looks even more inappropriate.
For some reason, at the very beginning, we will be shown a puppet performance of the most interesting scenes and events of the fairy tale, folded here in one brief backstory, and begin wild and showy Indian dances on its final part (in the end, even in the literal and literal sense!), every special effect looks just as puppet and unnatural here.
Suitable only for television, the magical transformation of a servant into a cockroach, computer giant puppets and a puppet dragon with the face of a teacher-Splinter from the Ninja Turtles of the nineties, leave by no means pleasant impressions of the absurdity of all special effects. It looks cheap, unfinished and, again, TV-like. It is like a TV movie or a TV series, and even then inferior to the grandiose “Tenth Kingdom” in every detail.
This is probably the only time the film deserves praise. He's really funny! As a comedy, as a parody, as ridiculous nonsense - it's all really very funny and funny. There are good jokes, there are funny scenes, there are ridiculous dialogues. The banter over the fairy tale was successful in full program, and beat the template of all the princesses, and the absurdity of villainous images, and the piousness of the princes, and even a few beautiful allegories on modern politics in the spirit of the brilliant scene of tax collection!
Unlike Singh’s previous paintings, this one is a must-see! Have fun and have fun with your heart. After all, when it becomes really funny, you no longer pay attention to the worthless Ermie Hammer, nor to the absurdity of directing and the inability to put and present scenes in the frame, nor to the Indian dances in the final, nor to the template types and the general cheapness of the production (regardless of what the budget is actually there). It's just a comedy that doesn't require anything, and it doesn't do anything. This is a medium-handed trifle, funny and stupid, which will help pass the time and have fun. Cinema is not boring and funny - and it already means a lot.
In general, Tarsem, of course, is a good man that approached fairy tales, and let him not depart much from the genre. He will definitely go to put, say, another “Alice in Wonderland” and let with Barton’s talent and his scope, without a sea of amazing special effects, but with the Hatter and the March Hare in the cylinder – characters like made for Tarsem Singh, and it is in such a story that such a director will be such a relevant phrase of the Cheshire Cat “We are all out of our minds here – you and I!”
The Snow White parody was successful and failed depending on the individual expectations of each viewer. Ready to see the circus in the theater and the theater in the circus arena, laugh from the heart and blush a little with the absurdity of what is happening, will definitely get a share of pleasure and may even applaud if they love Singh’s work, for some reason attributed to cinema and called “films”. The rest should hope that soon another variation of the fairy tale - "Snow White and the Huntsman" really will not fail and give an epic fantasy canvas, which seems to be amazing trailers. “Snow White: Revenge of the Dwarfs” is just a fabulous comedy that you can watch, or you can miss, hardly anything will change.
5 out of 10
Original