It is unfortunate that this movie is being overshadowed in the media by the fact that the Weinstein Brothers are releasing all of their movies that they did recently with Miramax before they leave the company in September '05. That gives a connotation that the movies aren't very good and in the case of The Brothers Grimm, that isn't true. While the character development and story had issues, the movie is still entertaining and the production design more than makes up for these issues. I would say you are missing something by missing The Brothers Grimm.

Will and Jacob Grimm, played by Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy) and Heath Ledger (Lords of Dogtown,) are two con-artists who take advantage of local folk legends to scare people into believing the supernatural and hire them to 'exorcise' the demons. The brothers are then captured by the French and offer them amnesty if they go to a small village in French occupied Germany, this story takes place during the Napoleon Wars, and help them find the con-artists who are stealing the little girls of the village in the nearby forest. Once the brothers get there and start to investigate, they realize that there is something more going on then a couple of hoaxers and have to put their minds together to save the children.

Both Damon and Ledger do a good job with these characters even though their accents are terrible. To me it sounded like they were from England which makes me ask; why would the French allow these two to roam the country side when they are at war with England? If that is the case then the story doesn't make a lot of since. But assuming that it was just a bad dialect coach, both men were able to provide some stability in characters that were written all over the place.

The best thing about the movie is the production design, costume design, and director Terry Gilliam's (Dir. Fisher King) imagination. The set is a pure period piece set in the early 1800's Europe. The town is dirty, disgusting and the wall around offers almost no sense of security at the forbidden forest just outside of it. The minute the movie enters the village, the feeling of gloom is projected wonderfully. Hats off to Guy Dyas for doing a great job turning Gilliam's imagination into reality.

The key to the success of the design is Gilliam. He has such a wonderful imagination that has been shown in his previous movies such as Time Bandits, Twelve Monkeys, and the Fisher King. He was perfect to direct this movie. This movie is pure fantasy and that is why he is right to direct.

I also want to compliment Costume Designer Gabriella Pescucci. She has a gift when it comes to costuming Gilliam's vision as well as this period in European history. She won an Academy Award ® for Costume Design for the movie The Age of Innocence and was nominated for the same award for Gilliam's movie, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. I know most people don't stay for the end credits, but if ever see a period piece done well, I would bet money her name is in the credits.

Ehren Kruger wrote this story and it is the weakest link of the movie. While nothing stands out as being horrible, the character development for the leads is weak. In the first minutes of the movie we are introduced to the young brothers, as they help their mother care for their sick sister. Jacob had run into town to get the doctor with the last of the money they had. Instead he came back with a bunch of magic beans, obviously being conned by someone. The term magic beans comes up time and time again as a crutch for Jacob as he continues to believe in the un-natural while Will is the sensible one. But I don't think he finished the story in terms of symbolism of the beans. Will was forced to believe in the concept in order to save the missing girls but at no time was Jacob's belief ever really tested. That was a flaw in their characters. Also the story dragged at the beginning and the end so it could have been tighter.

I don't know why a writer known for his horror movie scripts, Scream 3, The Ring, and The Ring 2, was chosen to do this script. I think he lacked the imagination that the story required and only Gilliam's direction kept the movie in 'fairy tale' land where it needed to be. To be honest, this is an excellent story for Gilliam to write, but I can just assume that the script would not have been as well received in Hollywood as it was by the man who adapted The Ring.

The last thing that needs to be said is that sometimes movies are affected by things the audience doesn't see and the director and actors have no control over. Much like Gilliam's lost Quixote movie, Grimm was plagued with problems. The movie was originally produced under the MGM label until it pulled its funding. The Weinstein Brothers at Miramax took over the project and made some changes with the movie that did not sit well with the Gilliam. They fired the original cinematographer Nicola Pecorini, who had worked with Gilliam before. Then the Weinstein brothers vetoed who Gilliam wanted as the lead actress. These things may seem trivial in nature but they do create problems between producers and directors that can affect a film. It is something to think about when watching bad movies, it may not be the fault of the talent on the film, but it could be because of money.

I think you are making a mistake if you miss this film. It has a great sense of imagination and is well acted and directed. It will make my DVD collection when it comes out.

Brian - the Naked Gun