Coinciding with the release of his The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Brothers Grimm finds ex-Monty Python member and animator Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys) skirting the mainstream with this fantasy take on the lives of the siblings who created some of the most memorable fables.
Will and Jake Grimm are charlatans. They claim to purge towns of ghosts and ghouls, but the activities are based on fabricating creatures from the afterlife in order to earn money. But their fates are about to turn when they encounter a genuine curse and all that it entails. No sooner than they have cried wolf, they are beset by all manner of monsters and creatures, more than enough to furnish a potential career as storytellers.
Gilliam’s film famously experienced a troubled production. But the finished film is hugely entertaining, thanks in no small part to the charisma of its two leads: Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. It’s their banter, often hilarious, that drives the film, while Gilliam has fun creating all manner of weird monsters to plague their waking hours.
12
118 minutes
2005
Drama
United States
English
None
Lionsgate Entertainment