Red Riding Hood

Run Time: 1Hr. 45 Min.
Release Date: 11 March 2011
Directed By: Catherine Hardwicke
Dropps 6/10

March has been the month for old and beloved fairytale retellings with the modern version of Beauty and the Beast last weekend and now the addition of a familiar red cloak. The film Red Riding Hood takes the simple fairytale story that has been told throughout the ages and turns it on its head. The movie is set in a small village that has been plagued by a wolf for years but, due to agreed-upon guidelines, the wolf as kept at bay. The town beauty, Valerie, has her own problems when she is in love with one man but becomes engaged to another. The small village is suddenly rocked when the wolf kills a villager after over a decade of absence. With the truce broken, the villagers seek revenge, but when word gets out that one of the citizens is the wolf, everyone becomes suspicious. Can the identity of the wolf come to light before the all the villagers are ripped apart?

Taking over the lead role of Valerie or “Red” is Amanda Seyfried. She is well cast as the gentle( yet a little rebellious) Valerie. Seyfried has played characters with similar convictions in other films like Mama Mia! and Letters to Juliet. Her performance also fits the period and doesn’t pull you out of the experience. The two men completing the love triangle in the film in are played by Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons. Both actors seemed practiced in expressing the feelings that their characters had, but unfortunately, the words in the script sometimes clashed with the setting.

The cinematography and set design in Red Riding Hood definitely did not leave the audience wanting more. Each shot and scene that appeared before the screen was mesmerizing. There was some resemblance to Hardwicke’s Twilight film in the panned mountain shots, but they were not out of place.

There were a few things that didn’t work well in the film in spite of the acting and artful cinematography, the first being that the background actors somewhat pulled away from the main actions at times. Specifically, there was one important scene where a mob of people were supposed to be riled up but the energy was noticeably lacking. Then there was the really big problem with the dynamics of the movie, as the romantic elements in the film had a conflicting, incongruent effect with the fantasy side. The script was just okay; some of the characters were more suited for the wolf-hunting, fantasy side of the film and had nothing to do with love triangle, and largely appeared less developed than they needed to be.

Once the dust settled at the end of the film, I felt that it was okay but not worth a $10 in my book. Some hopeless romantics will enjoy the love story (as I did), others will like the special effects and set design, and some will just like the hot guys in the film but these factors don’t make for a traditionally “good” piece of cinema. With those types of elements in place and the current trailers, I predict a good turnout for the film.

-Ashlyn Williams