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Release Date: October 13th, 2006 (IFC Center) by THINKfilm. The Cast: Jodelle Ferland, Janet McTeer, Brendan Fletcher, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Tilly. Directed by Terry Gilliam. BASIC PREMISE: While her rock-star father (Bridges) decays in the living room of their new prairie home, Jeliza-Rose (Ferland) befriends Dickens (Fletcher), a mentally-challenged young man, and his sister, Dell (McTeer). ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: Movies with an incoherent plot or likable characters can still be entertaining—i.e. David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. It’s great that Tideland consistently pushes the envelope of crazy plots, but it goes a too far into the void of insanity and even perversion. Jodelle Ferland gives a decent performance as Jeliza-Rose, a young girl whose mother (Tilly) dies early on of a drug overdose. Her father takes her to a dilapidated house on the prairie where he also dies of a drug overdose. In his few scenes, Jeff Bridges’ looks like and acts like “The Dude” from The Big Lebowski--especially with the lazy posture and those sunglasses. Upon her father’s death, Jeliza-Rose seeks ways of keeping herself busy, so she talks to barbie-doll heads, finds a mysterious rabbit-hole and befriends a creepy, mentally challenged man and his deranged sister. What ensues is a wild ride into madness and chaos. Writer/director Terry Gilliam includes a crazy blend of dark humor and perversion—i.e. the father cuts the cheese post-mortem. As stated to me by Gilliam himself, this film is intended to divide audiences; some will love it, while others will hate it. It all depends on how much you can tolerate cinematography on acid as well as grotesque images, twisted logic and sexual perversity that consistently pushes the envelope. For all those, such as myself, looking for at least a morsel of coherence and sanity, this film will surely give induce a big headache. SPIRITUAL VALUE: None is required or desired. INSULT TO YOUR INTELLIGENCE: Excessively perverse and incoherent plot. NUMBER OF TIMES I CHECKED MY WATCH: 9 IN A NUTSHELL: Consistently perverse, twisted and insane. An incoherent, nausea-inducing ride. RECOMMENDED WAY TO WATCH: TV Main Page Alphabetical Menu Chronological Menu The "T" Menu ______________________________________________________ |
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