Rocker Noah (Jeff Bridges) and his wife Queen Gunhilda (Jennifer Tilly) are both addicts. Their daughter Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland) is the only adult in the family. She even prepares the heroin needles for them. When the mother dies, Noah takes Jeliza-Rose to his family home in the middle of nowhere rural Texas. Noah quickly dies from an overdose. Jeliza-Rose encounters Dell (Janet McTeer) who she thought at first a ghost. Dell lives with her mentally-challenged brother Dickens (Brendan Fletcher). Jeliza-Rose befriends Dickens in sometimes sexual play. She also creates four minions Sateen Lips, Glitter Gal, Mustique and Baby Blonde with dismembered doll heads.

This is a muddled, imaginative, and a little creepy. The most controversial is some foreplay between nine-year-old Jodelle and the mentally challenged Dickens. It's very uncomfortable. If Terry Gilliam is unwilling to push the envelop, it's better to not linger on the issue. Suggestions would be more compelling than the icky feel of all the teasing. The story itself is a muddled mix of limited fantasy and unsatisfying reality. Sometimes, the fantasy like the underwater scene works but many times, it looks unfinished. The jarring reality of the situation is problematic at best. The fantasy works better. The movie should stay with the homes and the grassy fields. The best part is Jodelle Ferland. She takes control of the movie and never lets go. Gilliam needs someone to take control of the writing while giving him free-reign over the visual concepts.

When the dysfunctional Queen Gunhilda (Jennifer Tilly) dies of overdose, her daughter Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland) travels with her addicted father Noah (Jeff Bridges) to the old and abandoned house of Noah's mother in the country. While her father takes "a vacation" injecting drugs, Jeliza-Rose lives a world of fantasy with her heads of doll Sateen Lips, Glitter Gal, Mustique and Baby Blonde. Noah dies in his trip, and Jeliza-Rose meets the insane Dell (Janet McTeer) and her retarded brother Dickens (Brendan Fletcher),spending most of the time together.

I do not know whether Terry Gilliam was in an acid trip when he wrote the dark, bizarre and insane "Tideland", but it is one of the craziest movies I have ever seen. However, I liked the originality of the story. I could never guess the insanity of the next scene of this unpredictable film. I was also very impressed with the maturity and performance of Jodelle Ferland in her difficult lead work. This little girl is the story, and it is amazing and impressive, for example, the sequences with Jeliza-Rose preparing the dope of her father. The nightmarish atmosphere and the music score complete this original and unique journey to the irrational world of Terry Gilliam. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Contraponto" ("Counterpoint")

First of all, it should be said that "Tideland" is not the movie that will appeal to just any one in the audience. This movie is very unique in its own way, bizarre and odd, but also remarkably beautiful at the same time.

"Tideland" tells the story of a young girl named Jeliza-Rose (played by Jodelle Ferland) who is living a turbulent life and a very sad life with her mother and father. Her mother (played by Jennifer Tilly) is abusive and lazy, confined to laying in her bed with her chocolates, while her father (played by Jeff Bridges) has the little girl prepare his drugs and help him get his high. When the mother dies violent in bed, Jeliza-Rose and her father decide to go to the grandmother's house. While at the old rundown abandoned house of the grandmother, the father dies from an overdose and Jeliza-Rose meets the mysterious Dell (played by Janet McTeer) and her mentally challenged brother Dickens (played by Brendan Fletcher).

The story was quite strange in itself, but it held a great many aspects that were deep and interesting, if not downright fascinating. Director, Terry Gilliam, managed to pull off a rather unique story here - as he usually does with his movies. However, I will say that you have to be a fan of the twisted and bizarre to fully enjoy this movie, because it ventures out into some rather touchy places where one best tread lightly. If you think Terry Gilliam's usual work, mixed up with a pinch of Woody Allen and Tim Burton, then you pretty much have the end result that is "Tideland".

Aside from a rather bizarre storyline, that actually made the movie work out well enough, what made the movie shine was the acting performances put on by the people cast for the roles. Especially the ones by Jodelle Ferland and Brendan Fletcher. A movie such as this wouldn't work out quite a nicely if they had inferior actors and actresses on the cast list.

Then you might be wondering why I only rate this movie a 5 out of 10 rating. Well, simply because it was a bit too much for my liking. I do enjoy unusual movies and movies that push boundaries. But for some reason, the whole thing with the obsession with the dead people submitted to taxidermy and the inappropriate suggestions of sexual intentions between the mentally challenged adult and the little girl was going a bit too far over the threshold for my liking.

I am sure that the fans of Terry Gilliam will enjoy this movie tremendously. But as I said in the beginning of this review; this movie isn't just suited for everyone.