Review of Tideland (2005) by Michelle A — 31 May 2012

Who thought Pan's Labyrinth (also the only film I can possibly compare it to - RT agrees^^) was a dark film is maybe right but hasn't seen Tideland yet for sure. One of the most disturbing films I've seen for a while, sometimes even sick.

As Terry Gilliam said for himself - many will hate it, some will love it and some won't know what to think about it. I think I belong in the third group. Some scenes were great and I was tempted to give it a 70% rating but there are parts throughout the movie that made it almost unbearable to watch.

The film evolves around a young girl whose parents die of drugs early in the film (not much of a spoiler...) and who starts to live alone on an abandoned Texan farm - developing serious schizophrenia and neglecting considerably. She then is taken under the wings of their crazy neighbours (a mentally impaired and his taxidermy-fetishist sister).

Child actor Jodelle Ferland did a great job as the main character and anchors the movie pretty well. There are also glimpses of Gilliam's visual genius but Tideland never reaches the same level as his earlier and more extravagant works like Baron Munchausen or Brazil. He is a visual poet though and this is his version of a horror film so you'll find enough worthy scenes if you're a Gilliam fan.

This is certainly not his worst film, and I wonder why people would walk out of a theater because of it. However, not the easiest subject.