Review of Tideland (2005) by Nicholas K — 16 Nov 2009

I should have been worried when Terry Gilliam appeared at the beginning of the film to warn me (the viewer) that I may "love it", "hate it" or "won't know what to think"... uh-oh. Never a good sign when the director feels the need to preemptively defend his creation.

This is a great example of when he lets his creative and storytelling mojo get way out of control. His masterpieces (Brazil, Baron Munchausen, Fear and Loathing etc) are works that are fortunate enough to toe the line of absurdity while maintaining an overall coherence. Other times, though, he takes an initially intriguing idea and then begins to pile so much crap on top of it that by the end you forgot what the movie was supposed to be about.

In the end, as with Time Bandits and Brothers Grimm, TIdeland is a mixture of the three opinions; I loved parts, I hated parts and in general I don't know what to think (about what exactly he was shooting for).

Immediately we understand it's little Jeliza-Rose that we're to identify with; she's cute, she's innocent and her naivety is what insulates her from the harsh realities of jaded adulthood. To her it's natural, to us it's over the top and absurd, and that contrast is used as a device to make us see the world through her eyes and transform life into a dark wonderland of sorts. The problem, however, is that the two parallels quickly part ways, her circumstances grow much too morbid and grotesque and her response to it grows even more naive, unbelievable even for a young kid. After about an hour Tideland starts to wallow in its own filth, becoming a mobius strip of abstract dysfunction and awkward encounters. What started off as a reminder of the things we once possessed as children descends into a unintentional metaphor of where bad little children go when they die...Tideland, apparently.

What ultimately saves this for me is Jodelle Ferland's performance and the wonderful moments when her character is isolated from the world, and also early on as she takes care of her junkie parents, unknowingly assisting their habits. It's just too bad that the rest of the characters do nothing to guide her toward any kind of resolution or new meaning, thus wasting a promising setup.