‘Gretel & Hansel’ tries to be brash, leaves the audience tasting ash

By JASON GUYER
Is there such a thing as the modern fairy tale? I would say both yes and no. This is because the modern fairy tale is not nearly what fairy tales used to be.

Although, the new film “Gretel & Hansel” showcases what true fairy tales used to be.

Modern fairy tales, however, tend to be associated with sports stories, love stories and maybe the occasional animated tale, a la “Frozen,” which tend to be happier or brighter.

“Gretel & Hansel” harkens back to the days of old, if you will, back when fairy tales were darker than they are today.

You know, back when Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d’Aulnoy gave her own work the name “contes de fées,” that lead to them all being called fairy tales. Back when the Brothers Grimm were appropriately named and collected folklore or fairy tales that brought nights of endless unrest to the population.

The Brothers Grimm — Jacob Ludwig Karl and Wilhelm Carl — whose work included their classic collection, Children’s and Household Tales, was published in two volumes — the first in 1812 and the second in 1815.

The pair collected many versions of folklore or fairy tales, such as “Cinderella,” “The Frog Prince,” “The Goose-Girl,” “Rapunzel,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Snow White” and, of course, “Hansel and Gretel.”

“Gretel & Hansel” is very obviously a take on “Hansel and Gretel.” As the story goes, a long time ago in a distant fairytale countryside, a young girl (Gretel) leads her little brother (Hansel) into a dark wood. When they become desperate in a panicked search for food and work, the pair stumble upon a house — no, not a gingerbread one. This house is filled with everything their stomachs and hearts desire: food and shelter. There is just one problem: the owner of the house, Holda, is a very powerful witch who is very hungry herself.

Before the film even starts, viewers will notice the names have been switched. “Hansel and Gretel” is switched to “Gretel & Hansel.” The reason for the name switch should be obvious in 2020 and is decidedly very profound as the director Oz Perkins, tells the story of “Hansel and Gretel” from Gretel’s point of view.

Sophia Lillis plays this wonderfully feminist version of Gretel and in doing so offers one of the best versions of Gretel to date.

If you do not know the name Sophia Lillis you should. She is best known as the younger version of Beverly Marsh in the “It” and “It: Chapter Two” remakes of the classic Stephen King inspired, made-for-TV version of “It.” Lillis was on top of her game in “It” and “It: Chapter Two”

The downside for Lillis in “Gretel & Hansel” is that while the director offers a feminist perspective and tells the story through Gretel, he does not allow that voice to be powerful. It is hard enough to give power to a voice, and that is in itself a beautiful thing. Sometimes, as with all the equality movements, giving everyone a voice is important, but all the noise from all the voices can drown out the powerful voices.

Lillis’ version of Gretel had such potential, but the execution — or rather, the direction — fell short.

“Gretel & Hansel” is a creepy saga of temptation and empowerment, one that puts Gretel in a position where sacrificing morality for safety is a logical, even nurturing choice. But, does she chose it? Lillis’

Gretel finds herself repulsed by Holda, but also encouraged. The journey of living with Holda enables Gretel to begin to embrace her inner strengths, the same strengths that everybody else told her were her weakness.

The journey of Gretel is a profound and important one in Perkins’ version of the old tale. The problem is that as Gretel learns such a profound lesson, she also ends up seemingly (it is implied) making the same mistakes as Holda after doing great things and saving many. Everything just happens for very different reasons.

This is the beauty or art and film though. Sometimes it is just about posing a profound question rather than seeking to answering one. The answering of the inquiry may, and often does, fall to the audience. “Gretel & Hansel” is a film that is going to be good or bad depending on what your answer is.

Good cinema provokes and “Gretel & Hansel” does that in many ways. The provocation is all because of Perkins’ decidedly feminist take on the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

“Gretel & Hansel” is so gorgeous in its imagery the audience may come to wish the film to have less dialogue. The journey through the first half of the film is a creepy, spine-chilling and often sinister jaunt through the woods that artistically rivals films like Argento’s “Suspiria.” The film creates an atmosphere around the story of “Hansel and Gretel” that rivals or would even get praise from the Brothers Grimm themselves. The cinematography is fantastic all the way up until the children enter Holda’s house. At that point, the film is beholden to a smaller set and the music and cinematography plays a lesser role. Now it still plays a role but it takes a backseat to story and dialogue.

This is where one could find fault in “Gretel & Hansel.” The dialogue has too many moments where it does not fit the surroundings or the narrative of the story, leaving the words to just hang there awkwardly. This is why the audience may feel better with less dialogue and more atmosphere. Great cinematography and directing can sometimes be enough to overcome bad dialogue. In “Gretel & Hansel,” it did not.

Perkins’ version of “Gretel & Hansel” tries to be brash and often audacious taking risks with the Brothers Grimm story and switching the narrative to Gretel and the female perspective. The problem is: even though at times the gorgeous imagery and sinister heart of “Gretel & Hansel” burns as bright as the brightest fires — see the first 40 minutes — it regrettably fails to keep up. In short, the slower pacing and beautiful cinematography of this film when compared to others does not keep the audience engaged.

The film starts off wonderfully, creepy and eerie, but ultimately fails to haunt. It is like a large flame that fails to warm.

In the end, “Gretel & Hansel” is a film with a voice that falls short of being as gripping and powerful as it truly could have been. The film’s dialogue assists in this unfortunate result and does not allow the movie, cast and characters to fully develop and burn bright. Instead, the only thing the audience leaves the theater with after seeing “Gretel & Hansel” is an unrefreshing taste of ash.

IRATE SCORE: 2.5/5

Jason Guyer is an avid moviegoer and works in the graphics department at the Eagle Times. For questions or comments he can be emailed at [email protected].