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THE BROTHERS GRIMM
**1/2 out of *****
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| Preindustrial Fantasy | Genres
Adventure
Fantasy
2005
Directed by
Terry Gilliam
Written by
Ehren Kruger
Cast
Matt Damon .... Wilhelm Grimm
Heath Ledger .... Jacob Grimm
Mackenzie Crook .... Hidlick
Richard Ridings .... Bunst
Peter Stormare .... Cavaldi
Julian Bleach .... Letorc
Bruce MacEwen .... Dax (as Bruce McEwan)
Jonathan Pryce .... Delatombe
Laura Greenwood .... Sasha
Lena Headey .... Angelika
Monica Bellucci .... Mirror Queen
Terry Gilliam has had one hell of a ride over his cinematic career. From his widely acclaimed The Fisher King to his largely unseen by mainstream audience cult sensations Brazil and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, aside from Tim Burton I don't think there is another director with a more unique vision. Coming from an animation background (and of course his many collaborations with the Pythons), that seems tailor made for Gilliam's impressive ability to concoct imaginative creations and a distinct and sometimes over the top style that is unmistakably "Gilliam". Fans of his have waited seven years for another film (This absence wasn't planned, Gilliam was at work on another film, his heartbreaking endeavour to bring The Man Who Killed Don Quixote to the screen resulted in the most ultimate of filmmaking failures chronicled in the excellent documentary Lost in La Mancha). After such a long time audiences were introduced to the sometimes style over substance The Brothers Grimm which, was his not so triumphant return to the cinema as many had anticipated.
Brothers Grimm tells the story of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (played by Heath Ledger and Matt Damon, respectively), the brothers travel from village to village in French occupied Germany (circa 1812) bamboozling townspeople by getting rid of demonic creatures from folklore stories they have collected over the years; witches, trolls etc. They are basically traveling conmen. When eventually they are arrested by the French they agree to work for the French Army under fear of execution to uncover what they believe is a pair of likeminded individuals scaring the pants of the locals in the Marbaden forest.  | Alleged Dreamboats
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The idea is to send a thief to catch a thief and keeping an eye on them is master torture expert Cavaldi (Peter Stormare) who accompanies the brothers. However, what they encounter is an actual mystical forest, their investigation uncovering a terrible curse that has led to the kidnap of young girls. Before they know it they are wrapped up in the fairy tale and they must save the girls and free the townspeople from the horrid curse that has hung over their heads for 500 years. The Brothers Grimm has the makings of a typically twisted Terry Gilliam film, but is let down by a less then stellar and sometimes convoluted script. Gilliam had developed this film for quite some time before filming began, however a little more time needed to be taken.
The story itself is very simple, two brothers con villagers, get caught, accept a proposition then enter a world of myth and fairy tale as they try to break a curse. The problem is that Gilliam seems to have over-complicated things by throwing in too many characters to keep track of and allows little time for any real character development. The actors also seem to be going for the over-the-top performance (it seems like they are trying to top each other, especially between Stormare's Cavaldi character and Jonathan Pryce's General Delatombe) which gets tiring very quickly and finally there are few moments in the film that seem disjointed, for instance when the brothers chase the horse that ate the child into the forest with Angelika (Lena Heady) leading the way.
Eventually they split up, but when they are running out the forest the three come out all at once. How did they find each other since they were lost in the forest in the first place? (Upon investigation this appears to be an editing problem, the scene where they find each other is included in the deleted scenes, cut possibly for runtime reasons but should not have been.) Another example being Cavaldi siding with the brothers near the end of the film, this sudden character shift came from nowhere and there was no indication that he was slowly becoming friends with them (this is a scripting issue). It felt like a decision made out of convenience rather than in any logical manner.
The film has a few saving graces, Damon and Ledger have some great brotherly chemistry on screen. Their performances are pitch perfect and compliment each other quite well. Will (Damon) has an older brother schtick, basing things only on fact, while Jack (Ledger) quickly dismisses fact and reason. Not much can be said about Lena Heady who plays love interest Angelika aside from the fact that she seems to be doing her best Keira Knightly impersonation throughout this film. [Is this a bad thing? Ed.]
 | | Lena/Keira? |
The most astounding aspect of this production will have to be the production design, the film simply looks beautifully twisted. The attention to detail of the villages and castles is terrific and the forest itself looks and feels like a fairly tale forest should with tangled trees that look as if they are in pain. If it is one thing that Gilliam is a master at, it is creating a world. The Brother Grimm is for the most part an entertaining film with some genuinely good performances from the two leads, but suffers from a over complicated script. Die hard Gilliam fans may get a kick out of this flick but newcomers should consider renting first. Finger_Of_DOOM's reviews also appear on DVD Compare, where they include details of the DVD release. For this review click here. Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts) |
