The Brothers Grimm: Review By slysnide

Famed former Monty Python star turned filmmaker Terry Gilliam had an interestingly comedic take on the dark fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers. While it wasn't very popular, it had good acting, nice scenery, proper use of special effects to tell the story instead of overtake it, and various types of characters which kept you entertained throughout.

In early 19th Century German occupied France, Grimm Brothers Wilhelm (Matt Damon) & Jakob (Heath Ledger) fool the town of Karlstadt into believing that they rid the town of ghosts & demons which in reality were tricks set up by the con artist brothers that help them get by in life. Unfortunately, an Italian torturer named Mercurio Cavaldi (Peter Stormare) discovers their talents, and takes them to French General Vavarin Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce) who wants them to solve the mystery of missing girls in the village of Marbaden having assumed that con artists were responsible for the disappearances since the villagers believe supernatural beings are to blame. But after accepting Delatombe's request and arriving in Marbaden, the brothers quickly discover that something truly supernatural may be at fault after all.

Wilhelm Grimm is the leader of the two, as he takes things more seriously, and upon recognizing that real supernatural beings are responsible for the disappearances, suggests that they flee the village since they obviously wouldn't be able to rid the village of their problems, and would therefore be executed by Delatombe. Throughout the film however, he's constantly at odds with his child like brother Jakob who believes the villagers are telling the truth immediately, and further delves into that possibility by looking into local legends of a witch who kidnaps young girls to maintain her beauty. Matt Damon was a good choice for the role, though he seemed a bit quirky at times, and could've had more of a role to play as it's Jakob who takes center stage as the story progresses. But he was good in it nonetheless, even if Johnny Depp almost had the part instead.

Heath Ledger truly delivers an excellent performance as the purely innocent Jakob who's naivety and dedication to solving the mystery grows throughout the film. He even develops a crush on Angelika (Lena Headey), a villager who's woodsman father supposedly fell under an evil spell that transformed him into a werewolf that haunts the woods of Marbaden. This isn't your average love interest however, as Angelika seems to admire Jakob for his innocence and dedication rather than for his looks or mannerisms. This love story however develops slowly, and therefore doesn't overtake the film as an annoying subplot, but balances it well with the rest of the story. But it was mainly Heath Ledger's performance that made this movie great for me.

Accompanying the Grimm brothers on their mission is the bumbling duo Hidlick (Mackenzie Crook) & Bunst (Richard Ridings). They provide comedy in this semi-dark spin on the origin of the Grimm fairy tales. But ultimately, they provide little to the plot. Though the casting director made a good choice.

The other comedic role was that of Peter Stormare's performance as Cavaldi, who always acts like he's in charge of the Grimm's quest in Marbaden, but is very much a coward himself, and constantly switches sides whenever it conveniences him. Peter brings to the role the same type of comedy as he typically does, except this time it was more laid back, and much less serious. Especially in the scenes featuring Delatombe, whom Jonathan Pryce nailed down perfectly as the villain of the movie whom also believes the Grimm's to be con artists once they fail to come up with any conclusion that's to his liking. The scenes with him and Cavaldi are great, as is the sword fight in the woods at the base of the tall tower where the evil dead Queen resides. ;)

Playing the Queen is Monica Bellucci, and she's clearly an incarnation of the Queen from the Grimm tale of "Snow White," as she constantly looks to her bewitched mirror for approval of her self image, which is stunning in comparison to the corpse she really is.

While the film is limited in scope and features few known tales from the Grimm brothers with quick references to other characters of theirs like Red Riding Hood & Rupunzel, it still maintains a good pace and decent character & story development throughout. The woods look genuinely eerie despite the living trees, and the wide views of the tower look like they were taken straight out of one of the Grimm books.

Overall, the cast is what makes this movie as great as it was, and given the untimely death of Heath Ledger, it's now receiving some more well deserved viewings from fans of the cast, the director, and more importantly, fans of the genre.