For years now, Terry Gilliam has enjoyed good rep as an imaginative filmmaker, well-remembered for his contributions to the Monty Python franchise and for the wild fantasy “Brazil.”
Rated: R rating is for violence, subject matter
Now showing: Varsityon
Weak story: A new Terry Gilliam film that takes place mostly in the mind of its 10-year-old heroine (Jodelle Ferland), whose parents die of drug abuse. Gilliam’s acid-fueled style is best when married to a story, and there’s no story here.
In recent years, he’s also gotten news for projects that didn’t happen, such as his long-cherished “Don Quixote” movie, so memorably profiled in a documentary about the aborted project.
At some point, however, Gilliam really does need to make a good movie. His new film, “Tideland,” is not it.
This crazy new project will, however, maintain his reputation as a deliriously imaginative artist, if not the most natural storyteller. Based on a novel by Mitch Cullin, the film goes deeply into the mind of a 10-year-old girl named Jeliza-Rose, whose life makes “Alice in Wonderland” look like, well, a tea party.
As the film begins, Jeliza-Rose’s life is a domestic freak show. Her parents, both junkies, are immersed in rock ‘n’ roll decadence, and almost immediately her mother (Jennifer Tilly, doing a Courtney Love routine) overdoses.
Her father (Jeff Bridges, who starred in Gilliam’s “The Fisher King”) panics, and takes the kid to his Texas ancestral home. The house, which appears abandoned, sits on a grassy plateau, where much of the remainder of the movie takes place. (The location was actually Saskatchewan.)
Soon enough, the father also dies – although he doesn’t leave the film. His fly-ridden corpse remains a central character, especially after Jeliza-Rose makes the acquaintance of neighbors who know a little about taxidermy.
All right, enough ghastly plot. “Tideland” is meant to be a journey inside the mind of Jeliza-Rose, and Gilliam misses no opportunity to keep reminding us of that. This film’s visuals are almost as insane as his acid-fueled attack on “Fear &Loathing in Las Vegas.”
The girl who plays Jeliza-Rose, Jodelle Ferland, is exceptionally good. Maybe being a kid prevented her from going over the top – no such restraint is shown by Janet McTeer and Brendan Fletcher, as weird locals. They seem to have wandered over from the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” family.
The film is preceded by an introduction from Terry Gilliam, who warns the audience that some people will hate this movie, and some will love it. It’s a funny speech, and he’s right: His core fans will defend the film. Everybody else, be wary.
Jodelle Ferland stars in “Tideland.”
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