Have you seen his film Tideland? If so thoughts?
No I had not. But it's on Prime, so after an 11 hour shift and with my wife playing on her phone I jumped in, knowing only what the blurb told me about talking squirrels..
It does start like 'The Fisher King: the route not-taken' - goes dark very quickly.
As the protagonist is pretty much my daughter's age, I grew very protective of her and 'peril' and 'unreliable narrator' were very dominant throughout. I did enjoy it, but was holding my breath as did not want this to slip into 'big twist ending' crap: Gilliam did not disappoint. It was gripping if a big baggy, apparently. based on a book and equally felt about 30mins too long to begin with and to have skipped a few chapters at the same time.
So despite all of this, and my state of mind, I really enjoyed it: very dark shadows and yet it was so endearing and beautiful, and moving. I wanted to cuddle a soft toy all the way through.
Oh and the first thing I did say when it ended was 'bloody hell, Janet McAteer'
And then I thought of Kevin in 'Time Bandits'
So, a wild ride eh? Films like 'The Cell' that delve into the minds of others to give this dreamlike quality are visually cool, but they do obey a realistic structure: 'Tideland' was always one odd-scene followed by another, the tension coming from not-knowing and the comfort of the usual narrative not being there: I did feel so involved for the girl throughout.
Yes, there are bits that went nowhere but I do enjoy a film that has you thinking about it afterwards: not all wrapped up with a bow on when the credits roll.
For me, it felt like a collection of scenes that would perfectly match a mid-90s Tom Waits album; not quite amounting to anything, but always running from something. The dark moments do pass and there is hope.
Thanks for the recommendation