Six years ago Tarsem Singh, a highly regarded director of commercials and music videos, made The Fall, a visually remarkable fantasy movie shot in 18 countries that was marred by a dull, twee script. His recent mythical epic, Immortals, saw a certain improvement in his narrative skills but a diminution in the power of the images. This process continues in his retelling of the fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The twist here is that Snow (Lily Collins), as she's called, is a feisty teenage virgin who truly cares for the common people exploited by her stepmother (Julia Roberts), a self-centred lady more casually indolent than actively evil. Snow is empowered, brave and in no need of a kiss to awaken her. She's altogether smarter than her wimpish, accident-prone prince, whom the stepmother fancies. The dwarves have little to do; their best moments come as they go about their banditry on stilts to look like giants. The sets and special effects are unremarkable, and no honest mirror would tell Julia Roberts that Lily Collins was fairer than her.