Review of Tideland (2005) by Jennifer R — 11 Jan 2010

Terry Gilliam hasn't exactly dazzled us with either the quantity or the quality of his work in recent years though this is still easily the best thing he has done since Twelve Monkeys, certainly much better than its 27% critics' rating would suggest.

The story centres on Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland, remarkably assured), a damaged little girl who escapes into her imagination to pass the time that her junkie parents (Jeff Bridges and Jennifer Tilley) spend 'on vacation', the euphemism by which they refer to their interminable, drug-induced stupors.

After Jeliza-Rose's mother fatally overdoses, she and her father flee to rural Texas and that staple refuge of the fairy tale, Grandmother's house... I must admit, I wasn't sure what to make of this for the first half hour; it wasn't until Bridges embarked on his final vacation, leaving Jeliza-Rose and her doll's-head friends to explore the house, that the movie really started working for me.

Though the overall tone is dark and unsettling, there are some leavening moments of black comedy along the way, and the lonely girl's attempts to befriend her eccentric neighbours are sweet and touching.

Monty Python fans will enjoy an animation set inside Jeff Bridges chest cavity (don't ask!) that recalls Gilliam's early work on the Flying Circus.