Written by Clair Barré, Pascal Bonitzer and Anne Fontaine
Directed by Anne Fontaine
Starring Lou de Laâge, Isabelle Huppert and Charles Berling
Runtime: 1 hour and 52 minutes
In select theaters August 13

by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

White as Snow could be considered an “adult” fairy tale given that this French riff on Snow White features considerable sex. But as delicious as it is to see magnificent Isabelle Huppert as Maud, the evil stepmother to Claire (Lou de Laâge), this rendition lacks magic.

It is not that the film is unappealing. Claire is a beautiful young woman who is thrown into the trunk of a car when she is out running one morning. Driven far away, she is able to escape when an accident occurs. She is rescued by Pierre (Damien Bonnard). He thinks she should leave, but he kisses her instead. Claire also meets Vincent (Vincent Macaigne), a neurotic man with a sick dog that he takes to Sam (Jonathan Cohen), a vet. Both men fall for Claire as well. And when Claire is introduced to François (Bonnard in a double role), Pierre’s stuttering twin brother, Charles (Benoît Poelvoorde) and his son Clément (Pablo Pauly), as well as the town priest (Richard Fréchette), these men also become infatuated with Claire, bringing her admirers to the count of seven.

However, White as Snow, directed and cowritten by Anne Fontaine, never makes enough out of this set up. Claire says, “I didn’t know I had desires—now I want to live them,” and sleeps with several of the young men she has just met. There is a sense of empowerment for her here, but it does seem odd that a female filmmaker objectifies the frequently nude Lou de Laâge more than any of her handsome suitors. And a scene of Claire having sex in a car as squirrels watch, might have been cute on paper, but it is unfunny on screen. A later gag involving—spoiler alert—a squirrel eating a poisoned apple, also seems unnecessary.

But perhaps the biggest flaw with this film is that there is little suspense or reason for Maud—who is cooling things off with her lover, Bernard (Charles Berling)—to off her stepdaughter. The film never makes viewers want Maud to succeed or fail. And this is hardly Huppert’s fault. She is delicious primping a mirror or telling Claire not to get Granny Smith apples. And she is fabulous vaping and driving in one scene to do some mischief. She amuses during a dance sequence late in the film. But most of White as Snow is a snooze.

The relationships Claire has with the various men are slight. There are jealousies between the younger men. Claire is fooled into thinking she is seducing Pierre one night, when, in fact, it is actually François. When she goes dancing with Sam and a guy tries repeatedly to cut in on them, Clément stops the fight before it starts. But these little rivalries never quite amount to anything. Yes, Claire has agency and makes decisions about who she wants to be with, but it is her nonsexual relationship with Vincent that is the most interesting because they have an emotional connection.

Much of White as Snow feels like a missed opportunity. The film is silly without being campy, and a wink-wink sensibility might have injected this comedy with some laughs. The sex scenes are not particularly erotic, which makes them feel more perfunctory. And, as mentioned, there is not much in the way of tension as Maud executes her plan. A scene with her trying to get Claire to eat a poisoned apple or drink a drugged glass of wine feel strained in their efforts to milk laughs.

That said, Lou de Laâge is charming as Claire because she projects beauty and innocence; thankfully, she is not portrayed as dumb. All the young men are practically interchangeable, which is a drawback. They each have distinctive qualities, but somehow fail to register. Alas, Berling, who is a terrific actor, is given nothing to do. At least Huppert graces the screen from time to time, smiling slyly, and behaving badly, breathing some life into this otherwise lackluster film.