Tideland

AUGUST 15, 2006

3/10. I have not been so bored in a film for a very, very long time. Gilliam’s statement that the film allowed him to rediscover the ‘child within’ (given in a special speaking-direct-to-the-camera prologue) should have been warning enough but two hours later we are left in no doubt just how dull extended exposure to childish whimsy can be. Interesting moments pop up every so often (usually when we are given brief respite from Jeliza-Rose and her endless, tedious conversations with little doll’s heads) but they are few and far between.