Were we really supposed to believe Jesse was attractive?

I think Elle Fanning is gorgeous but that is beside the point. This is how I interpret it.

I haven't seen this movie yet (I do intend to but it hasn't been released where I live) but from what I've read of various reviews and comments on this forum, I have surmised the following:

This movie is basically a re-hash of Snow White. Jesse is Snow White. Ruby is the Wicked Queen/Stepmother. Sarah and Gigi are extensions of Ruby.

In the original fairy tale, the Queen is constantly told, by her magic mirror, (and I notice mirrors are used a lot in this film as well) that though the Queen is beautiful, Snow White is the "fairest of them all." Why? She is young, innocent and pure. She has a good heart. The Queen doesn't understand this at first. She thinks it's all about physical beauty. She then thinks to herself, "If I have her killed and eat her heart, I will consume that goodness, that innocence, that youth and it will become a part of me. I will then become the fairest of them all."

She doesn't understand that in order to be the fairest, she has to become a good person but that will never happen because she is far too corrupt and cruel. By immersing herself in the dark arts, through the use of her magic mirror, the proposed sacrifice of her stepdaughter, as well as the cannibalistic aspect of that sacrifice, (the consumption of her heart) and later using a glamour to disguise herself as a hag to trick Snow White into eating the poisoned apple (you could argue and say the hag persona is a representation of the Queen's inner ugliness but that's another story) the Queen is slowly sinking into the darkness of her own making.

Ruby is the same as the Queen. Jesse, like Snow White, has that "thing". Like the Queen, Ruby wants that "thing" and Sarah and Gigi, by extension, want it too. They take part in a ritual sacrifice to consume Jesse and absorb her into themselves, so then they can take that "thing". I've heard it said that Ruby is very, very old, so the ritual sacrifice to obtain youth and beauty by destroying someone young and innocent makes perfect sense.

"You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you." Mr Darcy

yeap, i had the same problem watching that film, she isn't ugly but definitely not somewhat stunning or gorgeous girl that makes every one crave for her face and body. she is just an averaged looking girl with the next door girl vibe.
when i saw her said that i am dangerous, i just think what kinda freak universe in that film, is everybody blind in it? pluz, her acting isn't good either. i think she is definitely a miscast.

It really doesn't matter whether any particular viewer considers her attractive or beautiful. If a young girl has the right bone structure, with makeup any of them can be beautiful for the camera or the runway and that is what this story is built on. Surely you have seen some of those photos that circulate occasionally, "beautiful" women with no makeup at all and their hair not done? Many of them look very ordinary. What young Fanning has going for her is youth and a long neck. And, to me when she was posing for the photo shoots depicted in this movie she indeed is very attractive, and I think most people would think so.

For anyone interested in the general subject there is a really good 2011 documentary "Girl Model". It covers the larger issue of young girls being deceived into the modeling industry and it features a 13-yr old Russian girl Nadya Vall, a sweet kid, tall and skinny, trained then sent to Japan. No more or less "beautiful" than young Fanning but chosen to represent the face of modeling at that level.

So yeah, to me young Fanning is very believable as the character she plays here.

..*.. TxMike ..*..

sorry to disappoint you,but this picture contradicts your post

http://media.glamour.com/photos/576b6958af83c39d790ba6ea/master/pass/_TND5487_R.jpg

she doesn't really have conventional model looks as the real supermodels do, but you have to remember that she's an actress as well...try to find a real supermodel chick who can act her way out of a paper bag as well. Good luck with that. Abbey Lee is an exception as well, because she can act as well and she's gorgeous too. The director couldn't just hire "real" supermodels and expect his movie to be competently acted

She's supposed to represent a modelesque beauty as opposed to a generic blonde bombshell (see Bella Heathcote, who I'm sure many find more attractive). Fanning is in the mold of the baby doll look that was popular in the modeling world several years ago. No, she's not an actual supermodel, but she fits the look somewhat and is actually very popular in the fashion world as far as actresses go.

I think it was because the other girls just looked like wax figures, but Jessie had true beauty that radiated, and she had a unique look that people find attractive. That's what they were lacking, and they couldn't understand what Jessie was doing that they weren't

I LOVE her but I don't think she's anyone to lose my effing $%*! over, looks wise. Also I'm pretty sure being attractive isn't all there is to modeling.