MIRROR MIRROR (2012)

Genre: Fantasy/Comedy
Director: Tarsem Singh
Cast: Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, Sean Bean, Mare Winningham, Michael Lerner, Robert Emms, Mark Provinelli, Martin Klebba, Jordan Prentice, Danny Woodburn, Ronald Lee Clark, Joe Gnoffo, Sebastian Saraceno
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://mirrormirrorfilm.com/

Opening Day: 5 April 2012

Synopsis: Relativity's "Mirror Mirror" is a spectacular reimagining of the classic fairy tale starring Oscar winner Julia Roberts as the Queen, Lily Collins ("The Blind Side") as Snow White, Armie Hammer ("The Social Network") as Prince Alcott, Sean Bean ("Game of Thrones," "The Lord of the Rings") as the King and Nathan Lane ("The Lion King," "The Birdcage") as the Queen's hapless and bungling servant, Brighton. An evil queen steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright in a spirited adventure comedy filled with jealousy, romance and betrayal that will capture the imagination of audiences the world over. Visionary director Tarsem Singh ("Immortals") rewrites fairy tale history as a wicked enchantress (Roberts) schemes and scrambles for control of a spirited orphan's (Collins) throne and the attention of a charming prince (Hammer). When Snow White's beauty wins the heart of the prince that she desperately pursues, the Queen banishes her to the forest, where a ravening man-eating beast hungrily awaits. Rescued by a band of diminutive highway robbers, Snow White grows into an indomitable young woman determined to take back her realm from the treacherous Queen. With the support of her subjects, she roars into action in an epic battle that blends spectacle, magic and contemporary humor in Singh's signature, jaw-dropping visual style.

Movie Review:

Mirror Mirror begins with The Queen (Julia Roberts) immediately hijacking the story as her own.

Having previously usurped the crown after the mysterious death of Snow White’s father, the King, she spends her days taxing the already-beleaguered poor so she can dress extravagantly and throw lavish parties to entertain various wealthy suitors. Snow White (Lily Collins) is locked in her room all day and on her eighteenth birthday, she escapes her confines and takes her first journey into town where she witness the suffering of the people who once danced and sing all day. Completing her day of surprises, Snow then wanders out into the woods and chances upon the prince (Armie Hammer) and his servant suspended upside down from a rope and stripped of nearly all their clothing, having been robbed by the famous bandits of the forest. The prince is instantly smitten by his wide-eyed saviour, but she vanishes before he can act.  As the prince of a neighbouring kingdom, he presented himself before the Queen, who immediately lust after the handsome and wealthy young man. A ball given in his honour reunites Prince Alcott and Snow, who illicitly crept down to join the party.  The Queen, then decided to take extreme measures to make sure that she will never be upstaged again, ordered Snow to be dragged out to the woods to face the mythical beast that terrorises the townsfolk.  In her rush to escape from the howling creature, she finds herself in a tiny hovel belonging to the other supposed danger in the forest, the bandits aka the seven dwarves. Taking pity on the girl in need -- and really enjoying her homemaking skills – they allow Snow to remain while they devise a plan for the princess to take her rightful place as the kingdom’s ruler. Meanwhile, back at the palace, the Queen uses witchery to enthral the reticent Prince and a misbegotten potion has him on the verge of marrying the evil empress until Snow and her diminutive gang rescues him.  The Queen inevitably discovers Snow’s not quite as dead as first thought. She then uses all her magic, despite advice from the psychic in her magic mirror, to kill the girl and the dwarves hiding her. 

Julia Roberts, a recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actress (Erin Brockovich, 2000), shows that she has enough talent to steal the limelight form the original female lead of this fairy tale. Roberts is fun and campy yet overflowing with dismissiveness, arrogance and flippantness that it is hard not to enjoy her performance and laugh at her antics. Lily Collins is beautiful enough as Snow White with her porcelain pale skin, but a pity, her acting is not. The lack of chemistry with Armie Hammer as Prince Alcott is very telling. Despite Hammer’s best effort, playing the prince with plenty of charm and a good balance of goofiness and aloofness, the romance between the young couple is not brought across convincingly. In fact, Hammer’s scenes with Roberts are much more entertaining and infectious. The Seven Dwarfs reinvented as a gang of bandits, having new names and all, fall short too. Half Pint, Grub, Butcher, Wolf, Grimm, Napoleon and Chuckles have a very enjoyable introduction into the film, but they were not much fun after that. Each dwarf was very one dimensional, hitting home exactly who they are and nothing more.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the film is the outrageously beautiful costumes designed by the late Eiko Ishioka (Academy Award winner for Best Costume Design in 1992) and Mirror Mirror is, sadly, befittingly her swan song. Director Tarsem Singh stayed true to his style, and he knows how to use the power of art direction to create stunningly inventive images. With just four features to his name, the Indian-born director has developed a reputation for layered and arresting fantasy visuals that are hard to forget. His The Immortals (2011) also boasted a visual style that clearly outclassed its story. In Mirror Mirror, he, yet again, complemented the script with an impeccably lush production design to create a world that feels like pages out of a children's book. However, Singh's inclination is to slow things down and drink in his surroundings and this is made worse with the uneven script by Melissa Wallack and Jason Keller. Mirror Mirror has so much potential to be something different and unique from the other adaptations.  It was a fresh and interesting start with the Queen’s narration of the story which is full of her cynical yet ridiculously amusing comments until it took a 180 degree turn at the middle to follow comparatively boring Snow White instead where it all become pretty much predictable, except the nice twist with the poison apple.

In this age where fairy-tale reinvention is the hot new trend in Hollywood, Mirror Mirror may not be the fairest of them all, but it definitely provides enough fun, laughter and enjoyment for the young and young at heart at this moment, until another Snow White comes to town (which is pretty soon).

Movie Rating:

(Mirror Mirror, on the wall, Julia Roberts still has enough magic to charm children and adult alike in this reinvention of the classic tale)

Review by Sing Swee Leong