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By CityThe Brothers Grimm *** out of 5
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The Brothers Grimm *** out of 5Visionary Director Asleep At The Wheel This Time Around
2005-09-08
Article Written by: Todd Darby
Very few directors are more at home in fantasy worlds than Terry Gilliam. From his days in Monty Python to the medieval tales of The Fisher King to the dark visions of the future in Brazil and 12 Monkeys to the drug induced imagination of Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, what better choice to tell the story of the original tellers of tall-tales, the brothers Grimm? But apparently Gilliam and screenwriter Ehren Kruger thought that if they just said, "Hey, here's the Brothers Grimm!" that the movie would just write itself. It's hard to blame Terry Gilliam for being burnt out after his many struggles trying to get his failed attempt at a Don Quixote movie starring Johnny Depp (fascinatingly documented in the great "unmaking-of" film, Lost In La Mancha). This time Terry Gilliam is on auto-pilot, throwing together bits and pieces from his previous, superior films to fill up spaces in an almost mad-lib fashion.
Heath Ledger and Matt Damon are Jake and Will Grimm, two con artists who travel from village to village in late 1700's Europe, pretending to rid them of ghosts, witches, and demons, etc. The Grimms are captured by an evil French general, played by Jonathan Pryce (speaking with an accent so ridiculous, it makes John Cleese's "fart in your general direction" seem realistic). Pryce and creepy Italian officer, Peter Stormare force Jake and Will to go stop what is believed to be another "con artist exorcist" from kidnapping the children of a small village. They are helped by a tough and rugged female trapper played by Lena Headley, who apparently isn't too tough to where a lot of makeup... in a poor 1700's village. Soon, they discover that the child snatcher is a real witch played by the beautiful Monica Bellucci, who is using their blood to stay young. An hour into the film, Monica Bellucci's cleavage was the only thing keeping me awake.
The Brothers Grimm has its moments. The demise of the witch queen using mirrors is inspired but even at its best, it is a pale comparison to Gilliam's other tales of fantasy. The humor is weak and feels more like someone who may have watched Holy Grail once or twice than someone who was actually in Monty Python. Matt Damon and Heath Ledger have good brotherly chemistry. Heath Ledger plays his character with manic hand movements and stuttering speeches reminiscent of Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys and Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing. Sadly though, and surprisingly, coming from a director famous for not playing by the rules, The Brothers Grimm is by the numbers Hollywood flick filled with cliché’s and only a few notches above Van Helsing.
