Tideland (DVD)

Starring Jodelle Ferland, Janet McTeer, Brendan Fletcher, Jeff Bridges

Directed by Terry Gilliam

Distributed by


ThinkFilm

Ever since I was a kid, Iâ??ve been a fan of everything Terry Gilliamâ??s been involved with, from Monty Python to

Brazil

to

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

; the manâ??s work has always held a special place in my heart for its almost child-like view on the world, no matter how dark the subject.

Of course,

The Brothers Grimm

was a bit of a disappointment, but if you believe everything you read about Gilliamâ??s dealings with the Weinsteins, itâ??s easy to understand that that wasnâ??t exactly Terryâ??s fault. Luckily he was able to move on from that nightmare right into

Tideland

to get back to making films the way he does best: without committee and with as much fantastical imagination as he can fit on the screen. Whether or not that makes

Tideland

a new Gilliam classic is decidedly up to the viewer.

The story follows Jeliza Rose (Ferland), a young girl who is whisked away by her father (Bridges) when her mother (Jennifer Tilly, looking decidedly unsexy) dies of some unexplained drug overdoese, out of the big city and into the middle of nowhere to live on a farm he purchased many years before and was once home to Jeliza Roseâ??s grandmother. Shortly after their arrival her father, heroin addict and washed-up rock star that he is, dies as well and Jeliza Rose is left to fend for herself, her only company being a set of four doll heads she keeps on her fingers and gives voices to, serving as her imaginary friends.

She never quite comes to accept that her father is dead, leaving him in the chair he died in for the entire movie, and the neighbors she soon meets, siblings Dell and the mentally challenged Dickens, donâ??t help much not only by not acknowledging the dead man themselves, but rather believing that as long as heâ??s not buried, heâ??s still with them. Seems Dell had a bit of fling with Jeliza Roseâ??s father back in the day and is overjoyed that heâ??s come back to them, going so far as to use her taxidermy skills on his corpse to disturbing effectiveness.

Needless to say it is a dark and strange world Jeliza Rose inhabits, but itâ??s one that sheâ??s able to accept for the most part thanks to her near limitless imagination. This comes in a large part from her constant re-reading of Lewis Carrollâ??s

Alice in Wonderland

, a tale that is both referenced and has inspiration drawn from many times throughout

Tideland

.

So one question you might be asking yourself is: Is

Tideland

a horror film? Is there good reason for it to be on Dread Central? The answer is a little complicated, but I believe itâ??s dark and twisted enough in its own way to justify mention here. Itâ??s certainly one of Gilliamâ??s most uncomfortable movies to watch thanks in no small part to Ferlandâ??s performance as Jeliza Rose, which is that of a girl far beyond her actual 9 years. She displays a maturity and courage that most actresses never come upon; I hope she keeps getting daring roles like these and doesnâ??t fall into the money-making machine of being a pretty girl in romantic comedies. The girl has got some incredible talent that was only barely touched on in

Silent Hill

; Gilliam has been able to bring all her levels to the forefront in

Tideland

in order to create a very dark reality that most kids could not imagine living through.

The DVD for

Tideland

goes a long way to show just how content Gilliam is working in his natural environment, one thatâ??s free of studio pressure and other such bits of bullshit and allows him to be truly the creative genius that he is.

Disc One is the feature with some compelling commentary by Gilliam, managing to cover both the technical and personal aspects of making

Tideland

, but the meat of this two-disc set is on Disc Two. The main feature here is the 45-minute film

Getting Gilliam

, directed and narrated by

Cube

helmer and lifetime Gilliam devotee Vincenzo Natali.

Natali was allowed to follow Terry around through pre- to post-production to get a better idea of how the man works and, as he says during the final minutes of the documentary, comes away with just as many questions as when he started. Gilliam is both enigmatic and incredibly down-to-earth, a director who can say he knows what he wants even when he might not, but everyone he works with trusts implicitly. The commentary that goes along with the short film is definitely worth a listen to as well, if nothing else to get a sense of how Gilliam felt about being discussed for so long.

Following that there is the quick 5-minute making-of featurette, which despite its short length manages to fit in interviews with all the major stars as well as the producers and Gilliam himself. Now thatâ??s some good editing. Thereâ??s also a quick bit on Gilliamâ??s use of the green screen, which is plentiful, a few deleted scenes that are actually worth watching, and lengthy on-camera chats with Gilliam and producer Jeremy Thomas.

All in all itâ??s a very nice package for a film that was sadly underplayed during its brief theatrical run, so I hope those of you who have been unquestioning fans of Gilliamâ??s work like I have will give it a chance. If nothing else itâ??s easy to say that thereâ??s never been a film quite like

Tideland

before, nor will there likely ever be again, which is what helps make it a quintessential Terry Gilliam film.

Special Features

Commentary by Terry Gilliam

Getting Gilliam

- A film by Vincenzo Natali

Commentary by Gilliam & Natali on

Getting Gilliam

The making of

Tideland

Filming green screen with Terry Gilliam

Deleted scenes (with commentary)

Interview with Gilliam and producer Jeremy Thomas

Theatrical trailer

FILM





3 1/2 at fault of 5

DVD






3 out of 5

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