Gemma Arterton: The Lack of Romance in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters Is “Liberating”

I’m going to be honest here: I’m not tremendously excited about Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. It just doesn’t look good to me. But some comments made by co-star Gemma Arterton about her character in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times’ Hero Complex blog has left me with good feelings towards the actress, if not the movie.

Because, look. Even if Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters looks like a stinker, I can always appreciate some kick-butt ladies, whether fictional (Gretel) and/or real-life (Arterton).

Per Hero Complex:

“She’s not the damsel in distress, not the girlfriend,” Arterton said last week, speaking by phone from New York where she was promoting the film ahead of its opening Friday. “She’s a stand-alone character in her own right, very strong, very independent. That kind of role doesn’t come up very often, not having to be kissing anybody. It’s liberating.”

Preach it. Coincidentally, I’ve been thinking lately about how rare it is for there to be a female lead—or any lead, really, but moreso with females—in a movie without a freaking romance subplot. There’s some kid’s movies, and Alien, and… help me out here, drop me a comment, I’m blanking.

But anyway. Kudos to you, Hansel & Gretel writers, if you’ve actually made a movie where characters don’t get distracted from kicking butt by making googly eyes at each other. (It doesn’t look like there’s romance from the trailers—and y’know, the two main characters are siblings—but you can never be sure whether they’ll sneak some secondary love interest in there.)

And kudos to you too, Arterton, for actually participating in said butt-kicking. Later in the interview the actress commented on the difficulty of fighting off evil hordes in an corset (I can imagine; I’ve worn one to a Renaissance festival before and it didn’t feel that bad to just walk around in, but extended, non-stop moment would have sucked):

“The costume was a bit restrictive at times,” Arterton said. “I actually used it to my advantage because the corset gave me a straight back, it stopped me from looking too boyish. I still wanted to be graceful.”

So, basically, female characters can still be strong (emotionally and physically) and feminine without having a love interest. OK, Arterton. You win. For now. I’ve never seen any of your movies (aside from Clash of the Titans, but that doesn’t count, everyone was bad in Clash of the Titans), but I like you.

(via: Hero Complex)

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