The Brothers Grimm” Directed by Terry Gilliam Miramax Films
After a seven-year hiatus that included the infamous abandonment of his Johnny Depp-starring dream project “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” director Terry Gilliam is back with “The Brothers Grimm” – and though hardly worth recommending, “Grimm” nevertheless must be one of the most fascinating films this summer. Gilliam has received perhaps the most negative reviews of his career – one best-known for “Twelve Monkeys” and the brilliant “Brazil” – for this wonderful mess of a film that reinvents the story of the real Grimms behind the legendary fairy tales. An admittedly conscious grab at mainstream attention, what has ended up on screen is the result of the relentless conflict between an auteur’s vision and a Hollywood blockbuster’s responsibilities (for example, Terry versus the Weinsteins). The pieces don’t all quite fit, the whole thing occasionally loses itself, and the want of some emotional authenticity undercuts too many scenes. The film tries to be a great many things, and never really succeeds at any. Still, “Grimm” exhibits more genuine invention than most summer fare and features a visual artistry that often accents the darker edges of the story. The picture stars Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as the title characters, who aren’t the educated writers of their real-life counterparts, but a pair of con men who scam unwitting German villagers by rescuing them from made-up monsters and demons. Damon’s Will is the skeptic, Ledger’s Jacob is the wide-eyed believer, and soon the two have their hands forced by some French authorities into resolving a magical curse in a forest ruled by the evil Mirror Queen (the age-defying Monica Bellucci). They pick up a romantic interest in Angelika (Lena Headey), who we spot a mile away because she’s the only villager who won’t help the Grimms at first, and also the only 20-something female around – and, apparently, also because the tops of her arms aren’t too big – reportedly the reason that Gilliam’s first choice, Samantha Morton, was vetoed by the Weinsteins. The actors are energetic, but the real discovery here is Ledger, who’s gone from “A Knight’s Tale” to stealing the show from the much more lauded Damon (unless Bellucci is on screen, at which point there’s no reason to look at anything else). With Ledger’s upcoming turn in the anticipated Ang Lee drama “Brokeback Mountain,” this is shaping up to be quite a year for him. When Gilliam’s films are successful, he packs them with seemingly random parts that are ultimately pulled together by breathtaking, uncompromising genius. With “The Brothers Grimm,” he only goes halfway. But it’s the best flop of the summer. – Alfred Lee