The Brothers Grimm

One of the most important things about a director is that he/she establishes something unique about oneself. To give an example of a successful director that has done just that, I cite Tim Burton, director of such films as Beetlejuice, and Big Fish. Another one of these directors is Terry Gilliam. You might remember him and his acting role and writing roles in several of the Monty Python films. As a director, he’s produced several stylistic films such as Brazil, 12 Monkeys, and the focus of this review, The Brothers Grimm.

Two brothers, Wilhelm and Jacob, are two con artists moving back and forth between villages, performing acts of heroism as they remove ‘evil spirits’ that they themselves produce. The brothers, however, come across a real fairy tale that requires them to prove their true skills and courage. An evil queen has captured 12 young girls from a nearby village, and is using them to raise her spirit, and grant her everlasting youth and beauty. The Grimm brothers unite their skills and focus their beliefs in one another to battle the evil queen, her henchmen and forest of enchantments to rescue the little girls.

That last paragraph reads like a fairy tale; as well it should! This is a story based on the Grimm Brothers, writers of such famous fairy tales as Little Red Riding Hood, and the Gingerbread Man. All the stories seem to find their way into this story.

But what makes this film worth your effort on the couch? I’ve never been a huge fan of the work of Matt Damon; however as time goes on, I see he has real talent, and will use it when prompted to. Paired with Ben Affleck, he seems to be stunted, but in all his films where he flies solo to Affleck, he does quite well. In this film, he is paired to the equally as rising talent Heath Ledger, who delivers an incredible performance as Jacob. Both actors demonstrate their real talent in their somewhat strange, imaginative characters. Pit against the evil queen, played by Monica Bellucci, they prove once again that in each of us, a little bit of childhood still exists.

Much like the film Legend, the style is what brings the film alive. Director Terry Gilliam brings us to a world where myth and legend come alive. Like Tim Burton, Gilliam delivers an immerse vision of the small German town that is plagued by evil spirits, and dark queens. The forest of enchantment, riddled with ravens, moving trees, and wolves, demonstrates an imaginative sense of danger. Gilliam enjoys the camera, and uses it as part of the set. The camera, floating through the woods, has a slight skew to it, making all the shots seem somewhat off. This effect generally works, making the film seem more like a different world, rather than a back-lot sound stage. It was fun to watch, both visually, as well as dialogue.

It’s one of those films that has something about it you just can’t describe. If you’ve not seen it, I wouldn’t run to the store to pick it up. But it’s a fun watch. If you’re interested to see Ledger and Damon work their way up as actors, this is certainly a stepping stone that removed them from the ‘hot actor = good’ realm to the ‘good acting = good actor’ realm. Keep an eye on these two. With Ledger already on his way via Brokeback Mountain, I’m sure these two are on their way to provide us, the general populous, with wonderful films. 6 of 10.