The Brothers Grimm (2005)

The Brothers Grimm is a wonderfully inventive and imaginative fictionalization of the history of how Will and Jake Grimm came into possession of Germanic fairy tales for which they later made famous.

In real life, the Grimm brothers traveled across Germany to document and later publish versions of local fairy tales. In this fun, fictional account, the Grimm brothers, played by Matt Damon as Wilhelm Grimm and Heath Ledger as Jacob Grimm, are conmen who prey on village superstitions with false, theatrical “exorcisms” to rid the village of their curses and their money. They run into unexpected trouble when they are called to solve the mystery behind a German village where children have been disappearing and the suspicious curse may be the real culprit.

Both actors are excellent and disappear into their roles, especially Ledger, as the more intellectual Jacob, who more openly weighs the possibility that true supernatural events can actually occur. And Damon's British accent is right on the money.

The script, written by Ehren Kruger, does a superb job of intertwining almost every fairy tale you can imagine into the story. There are references to Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood and many, many more. You see the fictional inspirations for the eventual Brothers Grimm fairy tales.

The film is directed by Terry Gilliam who’s odd visual style fits perfectly with the piece. In the Grimm fairy tales, there is always a true sense of dread, where children were actually in peril, and Gilliam conveys an effective sense of that dread throughout the movie. Characters are a little unstable and unpredictable. The danger is real and disturbing. He truly captures the waking-nightmare feeling that the original Grimm tales conveyed.

The Brothers Grimm is a wonderfully odd and unsettling, funny and intriguing film. Check it out if you can.