A Magical Place

If you recall, I did mention in my review of his latest film that I am a fan of Terry Gilliam's work. I find that the world's he creates are fantastic and for an hour and a half, I'm taken to that place. So when I sat down to watch Tideland, a film of his from five years back I had never gotten to see, that is what I expected.

Sure, reading the back of the case, I expected it to be depressing. I, however, also expected Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland) to escape her world to another. I did not get that. Instead, what I got was a pretty boring plotline with too much cringe worty material.


(picture copyright Recorded Picture Company)

[SPOILERS AHEAD] The movie follows Jeliza-Rose on her adventure through early childhood when you have lost both your parents. I knew that her mother Queen Gunhilda (Jennifer Tilly) was doomed from the start, which made me sad. It was a waste of Tilly, who I absolutely love. I was shocked, though, when her father Noah (Jeff Brides) also OD'ed not that far into the movie.

Now this poor girl who has spent her life cooking up heroin for her parents and living above a club, is alone in her grandmother's old house with only the looney neighbors to keep her company. And they are not good company. In fact, they're worse role models for her than her drug addict parents were.

Gilliam let me down due to the scene between Dickens (Brendan Fletcher) and Jeliza-Rose which I am disgusted to even mention in this blog. (So you can guess what happened. Or just look it up if you really need to.) I did enjoy Jeliza-Rose's interaction with her dolls Mystique and the gang, but that could not save this film.

While it was filmed beautifully as was expected from Gilliam, there was too much brutal honesty and not enough of the childlike innocence and fantasty that Gilliam fans have come to expect from him.