The Brothers Grimm

"The Brothers Grimm"
Terry Gilliam, 2005

I have only seen one other film, "Brazil," from Terry Gilliam, the former member of Monty Python turned director. Even though that film has numerous weaknesses, much of its success hinges on Gilliam's ability to craft bizarre, visually brilliant scenarios that manage to hold significance to the film's larger narrative. It is to my extreme disappointment, then, to have come across one of his most recent films, "The Brothers Grimm."

Here, we follow the legendary duo of storytellers, played by Matt Dillon and Heath Ledger, who are virtually unrecognizable as, respectively, the strong, pretty-boy and the ungainly, professor-type. In this film, they are portrayed as businessmen, who use their purported knowledge of fairytales and witchcraft to save - and exploit - villagers who have irrational fears of such make-believe things. But the French, occupying central Europe under Napoleon, suddenly catch up to them, and two ridiculously theatrical officers, General Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce) and an agent named Cavaldi (Peter Stormare), force them to visit a depressing German town and solve a mystery in which a dozen young girls have disappeared in the surrounding forest. This plot development doesn't make any sense considering the officers know the Grimm Brothers' profession is a hoax, but that's the least of the film's problems.

Gilliam's art design is, as always, the film's strong point - I particularly like a shot in which a Little-Red-Riding-Hood-like girl walks through a creepy forest, even if it borrows heavily from Tim Burton's film "Sleepy Hollow." But this film is simply a mess. Narratives butt in and just as suddenly drop out. Accents and character motivations transform on a whim. Laughably-rendered CGI creatures intrude on Gilliam's meticulous set-work. A lurching pace gives the film a half-finished, bloated feel that stretches its already-overlong two-hour runtime.

And finally, the overarching story is boring, something about an evil, five-hundred-year-old queen stealing the town's girls to maintain her youth. The queen's lair, which is perched in a room on the top of a tower, strikes a perfect combination of creepiness and entertainment; however, by the time we finally witness this wonderful visual, near the end, it is far too late. We could care less about these characters' exploits, which are rendered meaningless by the film's lack of cohesion. "The Brothers Grimm" is wasted potential, and I sincerely hope that Gilliam's next project offers a more focused and better-crafted experience.

Rating: 3

First Viewed: 7/21/08, on Blu-ray Disc
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