Review of Jabberwocky (1977) by Ben B — 16 Jan 2010

Terry Gilliam is a director I'm not overly fond of, and it could be due to the fact that most of his work is not only silly, but crude and simple. Although his stories tend to deal with things that could have deeper meanings, any meaning that could be eloquently displayed is instead rather poorly done.

Jabberwocky is no excuse. Revolving around one man's attempt to marry a woman he loves (although really shouldn't) and the quest he ventures on to save his town, the story of Jabberwocky seems elongated for it's short duration.

We only get to the true heart of the problem at the very end, and even then it's only for a short while that we see him face his enemy. This is both a good and bad approach to the concept. Good, because it leaves one guessing as to whether this beast truly is what people say it is, and bad because the plot seems to end as quickly as it started.

Although I was surprised at the quality of the Jabberwocky itself, I cannot say as much for the cinematography nor the acting. Worth a watch? Only if you thoroughly enjoy Gilliams films, especially Life of Brian and other Monty Python films.