REVIEW: Brothers Grimm
8/30/2005
OK. I'm a HUGE, MASSIVE fan of Terry Gilliam. Probably one of the biggest TG fans you'll ever meet. Some of my all-time favorite movies were directed by him, and the animation he provided for Flying Circus was simply genius. I have seen every one of his movies at least half a dozen times, if not more, except for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I found to be somewhat uncomfortable and awkwardly paced (and surprisingly enough, I'm not a very big fan of the late, great Gonzo reporter Hunter S. Thompson).
That said, my feeling toward The Brothers Grimm is not completely amiable. Aside from the occasional mad Frenchman and toothless old hag, I simply cannot find anything about this movie that feels like Terry Gilliam had anything to do with it. The sets are lush, but they don't feel as inspired as his earlier works, and the CGI is occasionally dodgy. I've heard that he filmed it initially without any CGI at all, and I would much rather see this version. These two things (the sets and the CGI) bring to mind Sleepy Hollow, an amazingly similar film that was equally as disappointing at first glance (though I have grown to appreciate it over the years). Both had the potential to be masterpieces, and both failed generally in all the same places.
The other thing that bothers me about this film is the lead cast. None of them seem to have any clue as to what's really going on, and their performances are all relatively passionless and flat. Also, the faux English accents (which is strange, considering they're all supposed to be German) are laughable at times.
The only saving grace for me was the last 30 minutes. they were so artfully executed that they nearly save the film. Nearly.
All in all, only the least critical of fans will appreciate this film, and only if they don't have to blow $16 of their blood sweat and tears to see it. If you must watch Brothers Grimm, wait until it's at the second-run theater - and let's hope that the time between now and Terry Gilliam's next potential masterpiece Tideland doesn't feel too horribly long!
I can't actually criticize the filmmaker for his failure to achieve his former greatness with Brothers Grimm; after all, practically every film he has made up to now is a masterpiece of quirky, neo-surrealist cinema, and nobody gets them right ALL the time. I have all the faith in the world that Tideland will be the fulfillment that all TG fans have been waiting for.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Tuesday, August 30, 2005,
