Seen: August 12th, 2008
Format: DVD
Rating: 7
It was weird too.
That's not an entirely bad thing. Nothing's much worse than sitting through two hours of knowing exactly what will happen next. This is definitely not that. Sure, there are certain conventions even here, but overall it's one delirious surprise after another.
This is a Fairy Tale in the germanic sense. It is, in many ways, a morality play. The stark duality of the fantasy world, the worlds themselves and the characters reminds us constantly of the existence of choices and the very real consequences of those decisions. Everything matters in this tale.
Gaiman and McKean have woven and incredibly strange, haunting and yet very beautiful world here. It's positively creepy much of the time, but still seems coherent via its consistency. The rules are all there to be discovered, and once illuminated, are rigid. There is not as much chaos as may meet the eye.
Visually, the film is a feast. It's rampant with CGI, but this is one time that that statement is far from a condemnation. There's true artistry here. Much of it simple, more of it highly complex, subtle and layered. I'd like to say its beautiful, but it's probably more accurate to say that it's fascinating, as there is a much unsettling material here as there is simple beauty.
Performances are solid, but a bit hard to rate, given the material. The lines between actor and character are often impossible to distinguish' not due to craft, but because there little reference for this sort of film.
If you're a lover of the fantastic, or of tales of consequnce, this one might be for you. It you like the stylings of David Fincher. Chris Nolan or early Ridley Scott films, you may find a visually intriguing. Be warned however, that despite the involment of Jim Henson's shop, this one may not be for the littlest ones.
The Good: Fantastic and Brilliantly styled
The Bad: The nightmares the children will suffer
The Ugly: Vying against ourselves
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