Movie Review: The Brothers Grimm
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What Parents Should Know
Parents should know that the film includes some scenes in
the dark woods that might be frightening for younger viewers.
The brothers argue and sometimes fight physically. Characters
drink and behave boisterously (it's 19th-century rural
Germany). Language includes German and French versions of
"s--t" as well as some slang for "breasts." The brothers'
investigation centers on kidnapped girls, producing spooky,
sometimes violent images (in particular, a girl is whisked into
a well by a black blob and a horse eats a child, in
silhouette). Creatures in the forest include tree roots that
grab at passers-by and a gigantic wolf. A powerful witch looks
alternately ancient and beautiful, casting spells and wreaking
havoc.
Families can discuss the brothers' complicated and changing relationship. How do they represent two positions on magic and faith? How does their relationship form a ground for the plot, as they deal with surprising tests of their beliefs systems? How does Angelika serve simultaneously as romantic object and intrepid adventurer?
Common Sense Media Review
Sometimes clever, mostly discombobulated, THE BROTHERS GRIMM
re-conceives the lives of the storytellers in order to ponder
the very nature of storytelling. Wilhelm (Matt Damon) and Jacob
Grimm (Heath Ledger) see the world differently: Will is
skeptical, Jake more romantic. But they're partners as con
artists, purporting to banish ghosts and witches for money,
rigging "scenes" with theatrical tricks (ropes, mirrors,
pulleys, costumes) so their peasant clients believe their money
is well spent.
The brothers begin to question their career and other choices when they come on what appears a real curse, the disappearance of 10 girls into the Marbaden forest in French-occupied Germany. A sister of a couple of victims, Angelika (Lena Headey), guides them to the seeming center of the magic. Their company, assigned by French military bureaucrat, General Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce), includes the completely unhinged Italian executioner Cavaldi (Peter Stormare), alternately simpering and aggressive, never quite predictably.
Their initial journey through is suitably spooky: trees' roots grab at them ("Don't trust the trees," warns Angelika), a giant wolf shadows them, and a cursed horse literally gulps down a child. The fact that the very land is rising up against invaders is of a piece with the film's thematic interest in occupation, of bodies as well as locations. They eventually do battle with the powerful Mirror Queen (Monica Bellucci), by putting their props to practical use.
The film is most effective as an antic meditation on storytelling, a favorite theme of director Terry Gilliam. Ehren Kruger's script teases together any number of references to the Grimm's tales, some obvious fits, more often weird. As he prepares Jake to confront the Queen, with the homemade armor that's not really magic ("It's just shiny," he confesses), Will worries, "Nothing makes sense here, it's like being inside Jake's head." But the broader sense lies in The Brothers Grimm's connections between politics and storytelling, showmanship and survival.
Families who like this movie will like Gilliam's other films, including Time Bandits, The Fisher King, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, or Ledger's breakout film, A Knight's Take. They might remember fondly the "Fractured Fairy Tales" segments of tv's old Bullwinkle Show, and might find comparable fairy tales-inspired wit in Shrek and Shrek 2.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
