After spending too long trying to decide which movie to watch last night, I chose a duff called Tideland. Here we have a movie that surrounds and involves a young girl in a world of hard drugs, abusive parents, sex, death, violence and strong language - all things we should be protecting children of her age from. The director, Gilliam, clearly thought he could get away with this so long as it's acted out with playful Disney-esque music dancing away in the background and with the odd hint at humour. Humour which barely raised the corner of my mouth into a smile. No, this is deliberate and nihilistic and I can only imagine perverts or communists enjoying watching this degrading junk. You can of course try and search for an inner message if you want - but I doubt you'll make it to the end of the movie, considering how painfully boring it is. It drags on for 2 hours, I only regret that I dedicated a whole 1 hr 20 mins to this turd.

Rocker Noah (Jeff Bridges) and his wife Queen Gunhilda (Jennifer Tilly) are both addicts. Their daughter Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland) is the only adult in the family. She even prepares the heroin needles for them. When the mother dies, Noah takes Jeliza-Rose to his family home in the middle of nowhere rural Texas. Noah quickly dies from an overdose. Jeliza-Rose encounters Dell (Janet McTeer) who she thought at first a ghost. Dell lives with her mentally-challenged brother Dickens (Brendan Fletcher). Jeliza-Rose befriends Dickens in sometimes sexual play. She also creates four minions Sateen Lips, Glitter Gal, Mustique and Baby Blonde with dismembered doll heads.This is a muddled, imaginative, and a little creepy. The most controversial is some foreplay between nine-year-old Jodelle and the mentally challenged Dickens. It's very uncomfortable. If Terry Gilliam is unwilling to push the envelop, it's better to not linger on the issue. Suggestions would be more compelling than the icky feel of all the teasing. The story itself is a muddled mix of limited fantasy and unsatisfying reality. Sometimes, the fantasy like the underwater scene works but many times, it looks unfinished. The jarring reality of the situation is problematic at best. The fantasy works better. The movie should stay with the homes and the grassy fields. The best part is Jodelle Ferland. She takes control of the movie and never lets go. Gilliam needs someone to take control of the writing while giving him free-reign over the visual concepts.

I came into Tideland as a huge fan of Terry Gilliam's work, but aware that Tideland had generated a great deal of disappointment and bad reviews, so I was a bit nervous and prepared to be let down. Big mistake. Tideland blew me away. Tideland weaves fantasy, insanity, tragedy, fairy tale sensibilities, and grotesquerie in brilliant fashion. The film delves into the mind of a girl who uses fantasy to cope with tragic circumstances. Tideland plays incessantly with the borders, such as those between tragic and comic, fantasy and reality, grown up and childlike, insanity and simple coping, and so on and on. But beyond the brilliance of the narrative, this film boasts tremendous acting (Jeff Bridges in all states is perfect throughout the film) and surrealistically compelling cinematography (pause the film at pretty much any moment and you have a perfectly composed, visually brilliant shot). I realize this film pushes the borders in many ways for people, and this feeling of discomfort is possibly the reason for the tremendous distaste some have for Tideland. I respect that and realize this is in no way a film for everyone, but, personally, I feel this is pure genius.

This unsettling film has strong elements of both 'Paperhouse' and 'Hound dog'. The intensity of controversial concepts will have most emotionally-healthy beings anxious to exit the room, making this an uncomfortable movie experience for the "very reserved" sort of individual. --------------------Potential Spoilers---------------------- Other than exploitative drug/alcohol abuse during the first 22 minutes of the film, there's nothing lewdly vulgar. The film whimsically tap-dances around dangerous concepts, much like a naive little child running along the edge of a pool with a pair of scissors in hand. It's nerve-wrecking to watch at times. I'm pleased with how the director was able to portray the appropriate affect during these "uncomfortable" moments, neither acquiescing to the sensitivities of critics, sexploiting, nor alienating mature viewers.There are arguably 3 separate realities being perceived by the characters in this film. There is drug-altered, mental illness, and the fantasy world of an overactive imagination. Interestingly, there are no villains in this film. There is no real protagonist other than each person's mental/emotional ordeal and the vulnerable circumstances imposed by it.------------------End Potential Spoilers-------------------This is a thinking-person's movie best suited to objective viewers who are keen analyzers. It's not great casual viewing and it certainly isn't a feel-good film. It's not your typical Hollywood fare, but gladly it's not obscure or boring. The sets are great, the pacing is mildly tedious at times, but not a big task. I have no complaints about anyone's performance, they are all equally commendable. A special commendation should go to young Ferland for tackling such "grown-up" material.