Movie Review The Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm (2005) 

Directed by Terry Gilliam

Written by Ehren Kruger

Starring Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Lena Headey, Monica Bellucci, 

Release Date August 25th, 2005

Published August 25th, 2005 

Director Terry Gilliam's unrelenting clashes with the powers that be have become Hollywood legend. From Brazil to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen to his famously incomplete The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, chronicled in the documentary Lost In La Mancha, Mr. Gilliam has chafed against studio orders as far back as his days as a cartoonist for the famed Monty Python.

Given his proclivity for challenging authority it seemed more than a little unusual that  Gilliam would go to work for noted control freak Harvey Weinstein for his latest film. Not surprisingly, this film also became mired in another of Mr. Gilliam's battles and has suffered for it. After languishing on the shelf for nearly two years, the compromised vision of Mr. Gilliam and Mr. Weinstein is now onscreen in the mixed up form of The Brothers Grimm.

Conflict is what marks all of The Brothers Grimm. From the behind the scenes issues between Gilliam and Weinstein such as the casting of Lena Headey over the director's first choice Samantha Morton to the conflict of the films script vs it's tone and the conflict of the films budget and special effects. Finally the conflict between Miramax and Disney that played at least a small part in the film being shelved for nearly 2 years.

Terry Gilliam nearly quit the picture after the brothers Weinstein, Harvey and Bob said no to casting Samantha Morton in the role of Angelika that finally went to the little known Lena Headey. This was followed closely by the firing of Gilliam's cinematographer Nicola Pecorini, reportedly because he worked too slowly.

Then there is the script credited to Ehren Kruger, famous for his weak-kneed horror scripts The Ring and its sequel. Mr. Gilliam claims the Writers Guild gave Mr. Kruger credit, though it was he and writing partner Tony Grisoni that delivered much of the final product.  Gilliam and Grisoni carry a credit after Mr. Kruger's as "Dress Pattern Makers".

Finally, rumored battles over the budget, compromised by the loss of MGM as a producing partner with Miramax, lead to production being shut down. Mr. Gilliam left the project long enough to complete a whole other film, Tideland. When he returned he completed reshoots, music ,and effects though not necessarily to anyone's satisfaction. The special effects in Brothers Grimm seem especially compromised. The bad cartoon CGI that brings to life the films werewolf is video game quality at best. CGI effects are still among the most expensive elements of filmmaking so one does not have to speculate as to what aspect of the film suffered the most from budget constraints.

One element of the film that survived all of this conflict is the performance of Matt Damon. As Will Grimm the huckster hustler of the Brothers, Damon turns on the charm and shows a flair for comedy that he has famously said he is terrified of. Mr. Damon would much rather play dramatic roles but when the opportunity to work with Terry Gilliam arose, he fought to take part and step outside his comfort zone.  He was initially offered the quieter part of Jakob that eventually went to Heath Ledger. The film is better for  Damon's effort.

The same cannot be said of Mr. Ledger who struggles with the more subdued role. It is ironic that Johnny Depp was once rumored for this part because Jakob as played by Mr. Ledger is a litany of mannerisms very reminiscent of Mr. Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of The Caribbean crossed with his effeminate intellectual Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow. Homage is not a bad thing but here it only serves to make one wonder how Mr. Depp might have really played the role.

Matt Damon stars as Wilhelm Grimm, the snake oil salesman of the famous Brothers Grimm. With his brother Jakob, Wil sells stories of witches and enchantment to the villagers of hinterland Germany in the 1800's. Utilizing Jakob's scientific wizardry and knowledge of folklore, the brothers stage their ghosts and witches and lure the villagers into paying to get rid of them.

It's a profitable racket until invading French soldiers capture the brothers and force them to take on a real case of enchantment. Lead by General Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce) and his second in command, the torturous Cavaldi (Peter Stormare), the French want the brothers to determine whether a series of disappearances in a small German countryside forest are the work of hucksters like themselves or something more sinister.

With Cavaldi in tow the Brothers head for the forest with the help of a female guide, Angelika (Lena Headey) whose father and two sisters also disappeared in this forest. Once inside the group comes to a gothic tower with no visible entrance. Inside the tower is the cursed Mirror Queen whose enchantments are directly related to the missing girls. They also encounter a werewolf and trees that come to life with bloodthirsty intentions.

The plot is adventurous and fun in description but in execution it's mixed up and very confused. Brothers Grimm lurches uncomfortably between family friendly adventure and surreal gothic horror. Director Terry Gilliam is certainly comfortable with the surreal part but the family friendly adventure has never been his forte and you can sense a conflict of tone between Ehren Kruger's safe script and Gilliam's darker tones.