Come on people. Gilliam is not God. In my not so humble opinion he has not made a good film since 1995's "12 Monkeys". With each subsequent release he has given us less and less to think about and ponder. Instead, his projects have become increasingly vain--making films only he will enjoy, not us, his fans.
"Tideland" is better than the insufferable "Brothers Grimm", but not much better in terms of being entertaining. I was completely suspicious at the beginning of my DVD seeing Gilliam himself explaining what the film was going to be about. Why? He's never had to do that before. Perhaps it was due to the poor reception of "Brothers Grimm"? "Brazil" didn't have a disclaimer at the beginning.
The main disappointment about "Tideland" is that I found it tedious. The story was not interesting much like "Brothers Grimm" and "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas". Boring comes to mind. Did Gilliam really think that a child actress would carry an entire film? I think she did a great job, but still.....that's all there was. The story didn't really go anywhere. I wasn't shocked by a single thing in this film, so I don't know what the big deal was that other reviews are so titillated by. I've seen far worse in films. Jeff Bridges is great, but the story doesn't involve much of him. It's mainly about this little girl who has been emotionally abused and neglected by her parents and how she copes with it. Gilliam doesn't give us anything to think about though--the story just is.
I sure hope Gilliam gets back on track some day. He had a string of solid films like "Time Bandits", "Brazil", "Baron Munchausen", "Fisher King" and "12 Monkeys". You've had your fun Mr. Gilliam, now it's time to give your audience what they want.
"Tideland" is better than the insufferable "Brothers Grimm", but not much better in terms of being entertaining. I was completely suspicious at the beginning of my DVD seeing Gilliam himself explaining what the film was going to be about. Why? He's never had to do that before. Perhaps it was due to the poor reception of "Brothers Grimm"? "Brazil" didn't have a disclaimer at the beginning.
The main disappointment about "Tideland" is that I found it tedious. The story was not interesting much like "Brothers Grimm" and "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas". Boring comes to mind. Did Gilliam really think that a child actress would carry an entire film? I think she did a great job, but still.....that's all there was. The story didn't really go anywhere. I wasn't shocked by a single thing in this film, so I don't know what the big deal was that other reviews are so titillated by. I've seen far worse in films. Jeff Bridges is great, but the story doesn't involve much of him. It's mainly about this little girl who has been emotionally abused and neglected by her parents and how she copes with it. Gilliam doesn't give us anything to think about though--the story just is.
I sure hope Gilliam gets back on track some day. He had a string of solid films like "Time Bandits", "Brazil", "Baron Munchausen", "Fisher King" and "12 Monkeys". You've had your fun Mr. Gilliam, now it's time to give your audience what they want.