CAMPUS OPINION October 12,2005 0
Movie Reviews: The Brothers Grimm
SARAH WAINRIGHT
Contributing Writer
If you are in the mood
to see a dark thriller, The
Brothers Grimm is not for
you. However, if you’re
up for a kooky comedy
about fairy tales, then this
is a movie you will enjoy.
Directed by Terry Gilliam
(Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas, Twelve Monkeys,
Monty Python and the Holy
Grail), The Brothers Grimm
is a fim and entertaining
movie.
The story focuses around
the two Grimm broth-
ersv Will and Jacob. Will,
played by Matt Damon (The
Bourne Identity, Good Will
Hunting, Ocean’s Eleven),
is the more headstrong of
the two. Heath Ledger (10
Things I Hate About You,
The Patriot, AKnight’s Tale)
plays the timid, scholarly
brother. At the beginning
of the movie we see them
fight courageously to save a
town fi’om an evil spirit, for
a small fee of course. Soon
afterwards we leam that
they are merely clever con
men. Will revels in their
fame while Jacob -becomes
increasingly more frustrated
AUDREY TAMER
Contributing Writer
If you are looking for a light
movie that is sure to bring
you back to your childhood
memories of bedtime stories
with mom, Terry Gilliam’s
The Brothers Grimm is not
worth your seven dollar in
vestment. However, if you
are interested in watching a
darker film that incorporates
all of your favorite fairytale
characters into a twisted plot
with two strapping young
actors, the fibn will certainly
do the trick.
Set in early nineteenth
century French invaded Ger
many, the movie’s central
plot revolves around two
brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm
Grimm (Heath Ledger and
Matt Damon) who travel
at the sham his education is
supporting. Before moving
on the next town they will
“save,” the brothers are ar
rested by the French army.
They are exposed as frauds
but they are given a deal.
They will be allowed to live
if they can stop whoever is
responsible for girls mysteri
ously vanishing from a little
village. The Grimm brothers
set off for the village expect
ing to find a fellow impostor.
Instead they are faced with
an evil, magical force that is
stealing the little girls. With
thehelp of an eccentric wom
an from the village and the
French commander keeping
tabs on them, the two broth
ers must figure out a way to
overcome true evil.
This movie is particularly
enjoyable because it doesn’t
take itself too seriously. It
doesn’t profess to be any
thing more remarkable than
a comedy. There is no pre
tense of being an Oscar-wor
thy drama. It is sprinkled
liberally with funny lines and
comical situations, which
firmly establish it ^ a com
edy, rather than a horror film.
It doesn’t go down that road;
it sticks with humor and ac
tion and succeeds in being
around the countryside mas
querading as though they
can eliminate evil. They are
able to eliminate evil, but
only the evil they create.
They successfully operate
xmder the line, “No curse we
can’t reverse. No spell we
can’t break. No demon we
can’t exterminate.” How
ever, j\Kt as the brothers are
at the height of their fraudu
lent fame, they are forced to
prove themselves as they en-
coimter a legitimately haunt
ed forest. Young gkls from
a nearby village are disap
pearing and the brothers
suspect that the forest may
have something to do with
their disappearances. The
brothers find that they can no
longer rely on their schemes
and acting; they must now
find genuine coxirage if they
pure and simple fun.
The plot was particularly
appealing because it had lit
tle fragments of all the fairy
tales that we-know and love.
They aren’t all glaringly ob
vious; you have to pay atten
tion to catch some. There
are allusions to Snow White,
Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and
Gretel, and Rapunzel- just to
name a few. I enjoyed keep
ing an eye out for little ele
ments that referred to stories
I loved when I was a child. I
thought it was a clever idea
to pretend that all the Grimm
Brothers’ stories came from
their own experiences with
magic.
Matt Damon and Heath
Ledger were charming as
the main characters. They
worked very well together as
the two brothers who depend
on each other but frequently
don’t get along. Will is the
dominant sibling- he gives
the orders and makes the de
cisions. Jacob is lost in his
imaginary world of magical
beings and happily ever af
ter. Once they realize that
they are dealing with true
magic and not some cleaver
trickster, Jacob takes control,
and it is his knowledge that
guides them. Will struggles
are to defeat the evil that has
control of the forest around
the small village. Jacob and
Wilhelm must leam to trust
one another and Angelika
(Lena Headey), an orphaned
woman from the village
whose two sisters are among
the missing girls.
Along the way, the Grimm
brothers find themselves
increasingly enchanted by
events from famous fairy
tales. The fairytale charac
ters’ appearances coincide
with the disappearances of
the girls. One girl who dis
appears is Little Red Riding
Hood. Another girl is Gretel.
Perhaps in the most disturb
ing exploitation of a fairytale
character, one girl is eaten by
The Gingerbread Man. As
the brothers journey deeper
into the forest they find that
with the new situation and
his lack of control. I enjoyed
their performances very
much. They did a wonderful
job creating believable char
acters that I cared about.
Some of the characters
were slightly overdone, such
as the French General De-
latombe (Jonathan Pryce)
and his underling Cavaldi
(Peter Stormare). The aura
of goofy comedy went a little
too far with them, although
kids will probably get a kick
out of them. Cavaldi in par
ticular was annoying every
time he was in a scene. I
was disappointed that his
character played such a sig
nificant part. Matt Damon
and Heath Ledger could get
away with some ridiculous
ness, but it just didn’t work
as well with Peter Stormare,
probably because he had no
corresponding serious side
to balance the performance
out.
The setting for the film is
great. The dense and wild
woods are very convincing
as the home of an evil mag
ic. The village set is very
believable. My only quar
rel with the visuals is the
special effects. They really
weren’t very good. Perhaps
they are presented with nu
merous unforeseen obstacles
that hinder their progress
towards finding all of the
girls. The youngest Grimm
brother finds that at the heart
of the forest a cursed queen
is dictating the actions of the
abductor. Now the brothers
must stop the queen and find
the girls while fighting the
temptation to become part
of the tale. All the while, Ja
cob Grimm is recording the
events.
The movie displays a
unique interpretation of the
fairytale characters. As the
movie progresses, it is clear
that director Terry Gilliam
exhibited a good degree of
artistic license with child
hood favorites such as The
Gingerbread Man. Gilliam’s
The Brothers Grimm casts
in this age of Gollum and the
new Star Wars movies we’ve
acquired very high expecta
tions. However it is very pos
sible that the effects weren’t
topnotch on purpose. If the
trees moving to block the exit
had looked too real, then the
movie probably would have
lost its comedic appeal. It
would have feh more like a
horror film instead of main
taining its lighthearted feel.
I’m willing to give Gilliam
the benefit of the doubt be
cause I really did enjoy the
movie.
Overall I would recom
mend this movie, but only if
you don’t take it too serious
ly. Recogni2e it for the fun
movie it y/as meant to be,
and don’t expect too much.
It’s rated PG-13 and will ap
peal to kids of all ages. It
would be fun for a night out
with friends, a date, or a fam
ily afternoon. You will leave
the theater in a good mood,
thinking about all the stories
you used to love as a kid. 1
was even tempted to pull
out my old fairytale books
because I couldn’t quite re
member all the details!
a dark shadow on tales that
were always carefree and
light. As a result, the film’s
PG-13 rating is necessary.
Young children may be dis
turbed to watch their favorite
snack time sweet treat. The
Gingerbread Man, devour a
young girl.
The characters hardly ever
take one another seriously,
making it hard for the au
dience to sympathize with
them. Even when the broth
ers are about to be burned
with the enchanted forest,
they continue to make light
of what is supposed to be a
deadly situation. Therefore,
what could have been a sus
penseful scene is completely
avoided because it is im-
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