Tideland

Source: The List (Issue 558)
Date: 1 September 2006
Written by: Kaleem Aftab

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(15) 120min

DRAMA/FANTASY

Poor Terry Gilliam. Having seen his dream Don Quixote project get lost in La Mancha, he then struggled to get his vision for The Brothers Grimm on-screen. Tired of the shenanigans of producers and financiers he decided to make a small budget film of limited scope, that would leave him free to display his unfettered creative genius. This, the near-incomprehensible result, sadly calls into question whether he should have bothered.

Tideland is a fairy tale of the Alice In Wonderland variety told in the melodramatic style of David Lynch’s Wild At Heart. On paper this sounds great, but almost as soon as young Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland) discovers that her guardians Noah (Jeff Bridges) and Queen Gunhilda (Jennifer Tilly) have kicked the bucket, the film heads downhill faster than our young protagonist dives into a rabbit hole. It’s similar in tone and style to Rebecca, The Ballad of Jack and Rose Miller’s little known but far superior debut Angela (seek this film out on DVD if you can), but that is where comparisons to this stifling film end.

Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 15 Sep; GFT, Glasgow from Fri 22-Sun 24 Sep only.

More: Drama/Fantasy, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Tilly, Jodelle Ferland, Terry Gilliam, Tideland, Reviews (Film)

Last updated: 12 Jul 2007 12:25 BST