BEFORE: I've been avoiding this one, because I remember that it got horrible reviews when it was released. But it's supposedly another film about a little girl entering a fantasy world, so it (hopefully) makes some sense to include it in the same week as "Alice in Wonderland" and "Return to Oz". I generally like and respect the work of Terry Gilliam, but I'll have to try and judge this one on its own merits.
Linking from "Nancy Drew", Marshall Bell, who played the creepy caretaker, was also in "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" with Jeff Bridges (last seen in "True Grit").
THE PLOT: A lonely girl gets trapped in an eerie fantasy world after her irresponsible parents abandon her.
AFTER: Well, the film name-checks "Alice in Wonderland", with the main character reading that book, and an imaginary fall down a rabbit-hole. But I found it tough to pinpoint WHEN this girl entered the fantasy world, or IF she ever truly did. Oh, there were glimpses of what went on in her imagination, but as for a complete trip to some imaginary land, I'm not sure it was depicted.
The little girl, Jeliza-Rose, does talk to a bunch of doll-heads, and worse, they seem to answer back in her voice. I suppose this is to be expected from a young girl left on her own, it's her way of coping with the tragedies she's experienced. Still, it's even creepier than that kid in "The Shining" who talked to the little man that lived in his finger.
Gilliam has depicted mental illness before, as in "The Fisher King" and "12 Monkeys". But there it was clear who wasn't all there, and those people were surrounded by more normal people for contrast. Even in "Brazil" we saw the main character's imagination take over - but it was always a definite mental fantasy, and he seemed to be the only one having problems dealing with the real world. In "Tideland", every single character seems messed up in some way - and what's the message there?
Then we come to a series of plot points that I won't divulge here (believe me when I say that the girl's parents checking out is only the tip of the iceberg), and each one is more ill-advised than the last. Not just because they all make the girl's life worse, but they're all things that make the movie darker and more depressing, until it's just one big downward spiral of tragedy. Generally speaking, that's not what people like to go to the cinemas to see.
Worse yet, so much of it seems to be done for shock value - I can't justify the narrative benefits of things that are edging close to child molestation and necrophilia. It makes me want to look at all of Gilliam's films in a chronological fashion, to try and pinpoint when things started to go so wrong. Can "12 Monkeys" really be the last Gilliam film I enjoyed? As in "Tideland", so many things in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" just seemed so ill-advised.
It makes me want to know more about his process - did getting critical acclaim for "Brazil" and "The Fisher King" give him the clout to tell whatever story he wanted, without anyone else having veto power? Did he surround himself with people who were unwilling or unable to tell him that his story was completely unappealing and unworkable?
I've seen creative filmmakers get too enamored with a story that, at its core, actually has no appeal. But sometimes a director can get too close to a story, so that he can't see its faults, or worse, doesn't want to see them. Or perhaps when he does, he's already spent years developing the film, and may feel that he can't back out. And I'm guessing that maybe "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys" looked like very difficult screenplays - on paper, they may not have looked like they were going to work as films. But that doesn't mean that every bad screenplay will find its way to working as a piece of cinema. Not every story problem can be fixed with editing and special effects.
NITPICK POINT: Why were the scenes included of Jeff Bridges performing in a rock band? Knowing his backstory added exactly nothing to the character, unless it was to explain his drug use. But even still, it was unnecessary, since rock stars aren't the only people who shoot up.
Also starring Jodelle Ferland, Janet McTeer, Brendan Fletcher, and Jennifer Tilly (last seen in "The Fabulous Baker Boys").
RATING: 2 out of 10 squirrels
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