Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

I think this is my next priority in a theater. I haven't seen it yet, and with very few exceptions, I love Gilliam's work. I hope this one sneaks up on me and kicks my ass.

Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here. I'd gone out of my way to learn virtually nothing about this film since I'd read that horrible things were being said about for more than year. I'd go so far as to leave the room if people started talking about it. I find Terry Gilliam works best when he takes you by surprise surprise.

The best part of director Gilliam’s strange and surreal children’s tale is a newly filmed opening introduction by Gilliam. But the more I thought about it, the more it made me angry. He’s essentially daring us to like or not like Tideland. He says something like “Some of you will not like this movie; some of you will love it,” and I agree; there aren’t going to be too many people on the fence about Gilliam’s take on “Alice in Wonderland.” But the introduction is essentially him saying, If you’re one of the cool kids, you’ll like this movie; if you’re a square, you’ll hate it. So here’s the truth: there is much to love about Tideland, but if you tell me you hated it, I won’t argue with you.

Jeliza-Rose (a strong performance by Jodelle Ferland) is prone to vivid imagination to the point where it’s possible she’s mentally ill. Or perhaps her fantasy world is her way of escaping the junkie lifestyle that her parents (Jeff Bridges and Jennifer Tilly) subject her to on a daily basis. Her best friends are a collection of doll heads, each with a distinctive personality and voice (provided by Ferland). Mom overdoses early in the film, and dad and Jeliza-Rose begin what is meant to be a long journey. But at their first stop at an isolated house in the middle of nowhere, her father dies to (although she thinks he’s just sleeping, which leads to the first of many ultra-creepy realities of this film). She plays during the day with her doll heads, and curls up on dad’s dead rotting lap at the end of the day to talk.

The film takes flight when she meets a grown-up brother and sister living in a nearby house, and it’s probably right around this point in the story where you will either embrace what the film is doing or you’ll outright reject it. Gilliam claims her discovered his inner child before making this film, and it shows. The story and dialogue ramble and stagger like the mind of a child, never focusing on one thing for more than a minute or so before flying off in another direction, whichever way the wind is blowing or the brightest light is flashing. I really admired Janet (Tumbleweeds; Songcatcher) McTeer’s performance as the sister, Dell, who looks like a witch but really isn’t that scary once you get to know her. The retarded brother, Dickens (Brendan Fletcher), is closer in mental age to Jeliza-Rose, and the pair have all sorts of imaginary adventures amidst the junk that surrounds his house.

There is nothing resembling a cohesive story in Tideland, and if that bothers you, so be it. But the film fascinated me, sometimes because what was going on onscreen was undeniably interesting. But sometimes I was just amazed how Gilliam’s mind works (and that of co-screenwriter Tony Grisoni, both of whom adapted this from the novel by Mitch Cullin). He’s a filmmaker whose worst movies are far more interesting that 90 percent of what makes it in theatres on any given week. Here, he puts his mind and eyes into the body of a child. The camera is almost always low to the ground and in motion. He remembers what it’s like to find wonder and adventure no matter how bland your surrounding might be. Everything is a toy, whether it’s a decapitated Barbie doll or your father’s decomposing corpse. I think it’s safe to say that Tideland is not a children’s movie; but it is a imaginative look at the mind of a child who has been through hell even though she doesn’t realize it. If you’re feeling experimental yourself, give this one a shot.

Capone