Movie Review: “Red Riding Hood”

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Released in 2011, 100 minutes
Rated PG-13

Reviewed by Talia Bitter, 17
Arizona

Director Catherine Hardwicke is very creative in her retelling of the classic "Little Red Riding Hood" fairytale. The movie Red Riding Hood, starting Amanda Seyfried, is best described as creepy."  The story takes place in winter when the village is cold and dark. The mood is very eerie and the music melancholy and dramatic. The way it was filmed gave the movie the atmosphere of a dream. For me, the creepy aspect was very intriguing, not uninviting.

Within the first five minutes, a passionate love affair between the two protagonists, Valerie and Peter, is compromised when Valerie's parents arrange her marriage to another man."  The two young lovers plan to run away but then find out that someone in the village has been killed by the werewolf that has terrorized them for many years. The rest of the movie is filled with interesting plot twists to keep viewers watching and wondering who the wolf could be.

I liked how Hardwicke matched all of the characters in the original story to characters in the movie including Valerie as Red Riding Hood and Peter as the Woodcutter. For the most part, I enjoyed this movie."  It kept my attention until the very end and it wasn't too obvious--I liked trying to figure out the mystery as I watched. The dark theme and the passion displayed between Valerie and Peter will keep teenagers interested.

My interpretation of the original "Red Riding Hood" story is that it has a very sexual undertone. The wolf represents a man who wants to seduce Little Red Riding Hood in order to eat her, an act that can be interpreted as rape. Although Hardwicke's version of the film is very sexy, I believe that she just stuck to the children's version of the fairytale and didn't bother to explore any of its deeper meanings. I " was a little disappointed by this and a few other aspects of the film, including the cliché forbidden love story of Valerie and Peter and the ending. In addition, I was disappointed that the message of the movie seemed to be that love is equivalent to strong physical attraction. Physical attraction is important, but equating love to lust is misleading to younger audiences."  But aside from a few unnecessary scenes and the superficial treatment of the story's themes, Red Riding Hood was still quite enjoyable and I would recommend it.

For more information about the film visit: http://redridinghood.warnerbros.com/dvd/