Dir.
Terry Gilliam, US/Czech republic, 2005, 118 mins
Cast:
Heath Ledger, Matt Damon, Monica Bellucci, Lena Headey, Jonathan Pryce
Once Upon A Time, adopted Python and director of such classic films as Brazil and Twelve Monkeys, decided he would make a lavish fairytale inspired by a collection of stories ranging from The Gingerbread Man to Little Red Riding Hood. What Terry Gilliam hadn't counted upon was a Big Bad Wolf in the form of Miramax honchos, the Weinstein brothers. They had demanded a "commercial" movie and given the production an $80m budget, sending Gilliam off into the woods with no sign of a trail of breadcrumbs. The ensuing financial wrangling and casting arguments (Miramax wanted Johnny Depp) are a horror story on their own, but what of the oft-delayed final product?
Matt Damon and Heath Ledger play Will and Jacob Grimm, two 18th Century conmen who travel the poverty stricken countryside performing fake exorcisms and witch hunts. Eventually caught by the occupying French army they are saved from execution on the condition that they attempt to solve a real mystery, the disappearance of young girls from a local village.
The problematic production of Grimm is up on the screen for all to see and most notably in the pacing of the movie. The opening scene gives false promise for the unfolding chapters as the brothers stage their first "exorcism", eliciting humour and scares in equal measure while all the while maintaining Gilliam's signature visual style. It's a huge disappointment that it is not until the final twenty minutes that the film comes anywhere near this level of excitement again.
Gilliam's aforementioned visual panache is also alarmingly inconsistent (his preferred cinematographer Nicola Pecorini was fired mid-shoot) so the canvas of the film oscillates from sheer beauty, in particular the Red Riding Hood scenes, to the uninspired blandness of the town that is in danger. These problems are not disguised by some very poor use of CGI. One terrible scene requires the gingerbread man to manifest himself as a black ball of goo that undoes any attempt the filmakers have made to create a look similar in scope to Neil Jordan's A Company of Wolves.
The characters are also woefully miscast. Matt Damon is a very talented actor but his confident ladies man never quite convinces despite a few good one-liners. Heath Ledger fares a lot better, growing into the role throughout the films evolution as the slightly eccentric brother who invests his heart into the stories he's told. Peter Stormare on the other hand, fresh from his OTT performance in Constantine , has his accent of no fixed origin on display once again to completely devalue any scene he's in.
The saving grace is Monica Belucci; under layers of prosthetic make-up for the majority of her screen time she so emanates the beauty required as the once powerful queen of the land that it's a shame that she is limited to very little of it.
As we reach the final chapter of this review the question remains, is it a case of happily ever after or another failed masterpiece from the unluckiest man in Hollywood? Every so often during the running time there is a reference to a fairytale, fable, or nursery rhyme that will be recognisable to the viewer and hint at something deeper that could have been realised with the combined talents involved, only for it to vanish into thin air. For hidden deep within this macabre mess is a brilliant story waiting to be told.
Matthew Rodgers
Buena Vista Home Entertainment have announced the UK Region 2 DVD release of The Brothers Grimm for 13th March 2006.
Features include:
- Feature Commentary
- Deleted Scenes with optional commentary
- Bringing The Fairy Tale To life - A look behind the scenes of The Brothers Grimm
- The Visual Magic Of The Brothers Grimm - A look at the special effects featured in The Brothers Grimm
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