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Movie Review - The Brothers Grimm (2005)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Terry Gilliam |
| Starring: |
Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, and Lena Headey |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for violence, frightening sequences and brief suggestive material) |
| Length: |
118 minutes |
| Genre: |
Adventure/Comedy/Fairy Tale |
| Tagline: |
Eliminating Evil Since 1812 |
| Studio: |
Miramax |
| Website: |
The Brothers Grimm |
| Release: |
August 26, 2005 |
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PLOT
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Will and Jake Grimm (Damon and Ledger) are two brothers who are entirely opposite in their personalities and
philosophies. They travel around the Napoleonic countryside fraudulently vanquishing monsters and witches in
exchange for money. Human naïveté has helped them develop quite a lucrative business.
In what can only be described as a huge stretch of the imagination, the French authorities figure out their
scheme and give them an option: figure out why young girls keep disappearing under mysterious circumstances
or suffer death. Naturally, the brothers choose to help find the children. However, they weren't expecting
a confrontation with a real magical curse within the confines of an actual enchanted forest. A fairy tale for
adults ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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At no point in the development process of The Brothers Grimm did anybody set out to create a film that would one
day air on A&E's Biography. Instead, Terry Gilliam has chosen to take the real life Grimm Brothers, wrap them up
into the fictional, fairy tale world they created within their stories, and create a fairy tale about *them*.
The result is a visually impressive story that follows the brothers' rise from frauds to heroes, all within the
context of humor, fantasy, horror, and romance. If you're part of the growing number of moviegoers who constantly
complains that nothing fresh and original ever comes out of Hollywood then here's an alternative. However, you
might want to leave the children at home. Gilliam has delivered a somewhat dark fairy tale for an older crowd,
and he obviously didn't bother himself with making sure this was safe for the average kindergartener. Thank
goodness.
The Brothers Grimm feels like it was made for those of us who grew up with Grimm fairy tales, so you need to
pay close attention for the clever nods to characters from the original stories (particularly Cinderella,
Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, and The Gingerbread Man).
I've seen the movie twice, and I was surprised to find that I caught quite a few things the second time I saw
the movie that I missed the first time around.
A lot of the references are subtle and won't be appreciated by the average moviegoer who has no reference to the
source material. I overheard one teenage boy at the screening sarcastically remark, "What's next, the Big Bad Wolf?
Why is the Gingerbread Man in this?" Hey man, do you read much? Ever break away from action movies starring
Ice Cube? No? Then try heading to the library someday, indulge in a little self-education, and broaden those
movie horizons.
Keeping in mind that Gilliam decided to let his off-the-wall imagination run wild every now and then, you might
want to forewarn any friends that are animal lovers. I have one friend who doesn't mind seeing humans get killed
left and right in movies, but she's reluctant to see any movie where an animal suffers fictional harm. Go figure.
I don't want to reveal too much, but there's one scene in particular where I actually found myself audibly saying,
"Oh man." I laughed, and I should probably feel guilty about it, but nah, every now and then it's healthy for us
to allow the darker side of our sense of humor to prevail.
Do things get a little goofy, a little cartoonish, and a little over-the-top at times? Of course! It's directed
by the only American-born actor from Monty Python, so what else are you expecting? If you're willing to embrace a
small amount of your PG-13 dark side, and you love letting yourself get wrapped up in fantasy and fairy tale
worlds, then you very likely well find a lot to enjoy in The Brothers Grimm.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Budget: approximately $80 million.
- Gilliam originally wanted to cast Damon as Jake because "he's usually more of an introspective and sensitive
character." And he thought Ledger would work better as Will. However, Damon and Ledger wanted it the opposite
way and convinced him to cast against type.
- Production designer Guy Dyas (X2: X-Men United) had to construct a 25-building 19th century German
village from scratch, complete with a church, bakery, bridges, castles, barns, stables and pathways; and an
enchanted forest filled with rocks, a brook, and towering trees all on a Czech soundstage. They also had to
train ravens and horses and they crafted hundreds of models.
- 700 trees were brought in and replanted in a concrete backlot.
- Rumor has it that Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Williams, and Johnny Depp were all cast at some point
but had to pull out. In most cases, delays in filming were probably the main reason. However, I have faith that
Robin Williams dropping out was an answer to my prayer.
- Terry Gilliam says, "I always believe when I am making a film that 90 percent of what is seen should be in the
shadows so that the audience is doing the imagining."
- The real Brothers Grimm published more than 200 tales. Among their most popular are Cinderella,
Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, Snow White, Rapunzel,
and Rumpelstiltskin.
- Monica Bellucci is hot. I would have probably helped her character return to the young, beautiful Queen that
she once was.
- Lena Headey is hot as well.
- Matt Damon was in Rounders with Gretchen Mol who was in Picnic with Josh Brolin who was in
Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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One thing I really liked is that the content isn't watered down just to make it palatable for 5-year-olds. That's
right; this is NOT for the youngsters. There are severed heads, half-eaten bodies, deaths, freaky stuff happening
to small children, and bad things happening to animals. There isn't much profanity (a couple of "s" words), so
mama can handle it, but it may prove to be a bit scary for many pre-teens.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer is a good representation of what to expect, and it doesn't make the mistake of revealing too much.
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THE GIST
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The Brothers Grimm will be most enjoyed by people who are fans of fantasies and fairy tales, particularly
ones with dark and comical elements to them. This certainly isn't Seven or anything, but it's not exactly
a light and fluffy movie for you to enjoy with a pre-schooler. You simply have to be willing to engage yourself
in the world that Gilliam has created to enjoy this to its potential.
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