"it wasn't just a story, was it?"

Oh, I love Terry Gilliam. He is a friggin' genius.

So I was really excited when Jon suggested that I go out to see his new movie, The Brothers Grimm. After pumping a bottle just in case and getting the kiddos to sleep, I went off to a late night showing all by my lonesome.

It was amazing.

It seems that most people fall into one of two categories: they either love Gilliam's stuff or they just don't quite get it. I can only conclude that the negative reviews---most reviews have been negative, by the way---come from folks who don't get what he does.

Gilliam seems to enjoy dichotomies and this film, like the earlier Adventures of Baron Munchausen (which critics also disliked), really explores the line between reality and fantasy, truth and 'the story', the Enlightenment Project and "superstition". The Brothers is another period film, which makes for great eye candy. This film was a bit more sinister than some of his earlier stuff, more along the lines of 12 Monkeys in tone, though there are some wonderfully hilarious moments as well as trademark Gilliam zany-ness. In any case, he shows again that he's a master storyteller. There were a few loose ends, but they didn't detract from the story because I didn't really notice them til afterwards. I thought the acting was great; in particular, I get more and more impressed with Matt Damon as he does more of these types of films.

It was really just a fun movie. I think I'll probably enjoy it more with each viewing, as that tends to be the pattern I've had with his stuff. If you like Gilliam, you'll love this movie. If you don't know his work, but enjoy somewhat off-the-wall stuff, you'll probably like it as well. But, one way or the other, what you won't be is ambivalent.