Tim Burton’s MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN is the director’s freshest and most original film in years, while still being entirely within the director’s wheelhouse of quirky, colorful, and mysterious movies. In this new creative direction, Burton offers a more mature, even serious tone, and less of his signature over-the-top silly quirk, in this tale of a teenage boy and his beloved grandfather, who raised him on tales of a mysterious, hidden home for “peculiar” children – that is, children with special powers such as levitation or invisibility, and run by kindly but strict Miss Peregrine.
The film is a departure for Burton, and fans expecting the usual mix of oddball darkness and humor may feel let down by this more mature film. In one way, it is a return to his early work, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, with an emphasis on family and fitting-in, but in a more creatively mature manner. Some fans will be disappointed that the director’s frequent collaborator Johnny Depp is absent from this film but the cast does include some fine actors, including Sammy L. Jackson, Judi Dench, Alison Janney and Terence Stamp. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Ransom Rigg, the story borrows elements from fairy tales, time-traveling science fiction, the X-Men and other fantasy sources, but it feels completely like its own appealingly Gothic world. At the same time, this film maintains a foothold in the real world to a surprising degree for a Tim Burton film, hearkening back a bit to his more real-world family tale BIG FISH.
Unlike the typical eerie Gothic mystery tale, this story begins in sunny, suburban Florida, where lonely, socially-awkward teenager Jake Portman (Asa Butterworth) lives with his parents (Kim Dickens and Chris O’Dowd). Jake feels ignored by his parents, particularly his hyper-critical dad Frank, but he is particularly close to his British-born grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp), who raised him on fantastic tales about the unusual children’s home where he grew up, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, all of whom had special magical abilities. Jake’s father Frank (Chris O’Dowd) dismisses his father’s tales as invention and lies, and the mysterious photos Abe shows Jake as fakes, but even as a teen Jake holds his grandfather’s stories close to his heart. When grandpa Abe dies suddenly and mysteriously, Jake is devastated and his parents take him to a psychotherapist, Dr. Golan (Alison Janney), who suggests a trip to visit the old home in Wales. Jake and his father make the trip to try to find the old children’s home and maybe Miss Peregrine.
Once there, Jake’s distant, self-absorbed father seems more interested in bird-watching than in Jake’s emotional state or the search from the house, so he pays a couple of local teens to show Jake the now-abandoned old home. The village lads are glad to take the American boy on the worst possible route, having a joke at his expense, while also showing off their questionable skills as rappers (in one of the film’s few comic bits). Jake is disappointed to find the house is a deserted ruin. Later, when he is walking the beach, Jake encounters a beautiful girl in 1940s dress, Emma (Ella Purnell), who leads him through a cave to the time-loop where the home still exists. There he meets Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) and the magical children she cares for – fire-generating Olive (Lauren McCrostie), invisible boy Millard (Cameron King), inhumanly strong little Bronwyn (Pixie Davies) and more. But their quiet, hidden world is under threat, from group of other human-like beings with special powers, the Wights, led by the evil Mr. Barron (Jackson). Jake thinks he is an ordinary boy but he discovers he has a special ability that can help Miss Peregrine and the children.
On one level, this is a coming-of-age story and it represents a kind of creative coming-of-age for the director as well. Burton deserves credit, even kudos, for trying something this new, after so many years making financially-successful films in the same vein. Whether all his fans will embrace this change remains to be seen. Some may consider it a shortcoming that this film does not feature big name stars in the lead roles (apart from Jackson as the villain) and particularly Depp, while others will embrace the fresh direction.
Not that this new film does not have its flaws. Despite it’s many admirable qualities, this film suffers from too slow a pace in the action parts, and it spends too little time immersing us in its magical alternate world before launching into its action-adventure mode. Once the adventure begins, the film sometimes struggles to maintain sufficient tension and excitement. The sense of mystery and magic sometimes sags despite the fantastical surroundings.
On the other hand, the film is visually wonderful, as one expects from Tim Burton. Although the story is set in 1943, the costumes are more Victorian-inspired, with Burton’s signature colorful and extravagant embellishments. The characters are filled with quirky charm, particularly Eva Green’s Miss Peregrine, although one wishes the story had allowed a little more time for the audience to get to know them. Where the story does well with character development is with Jake and his relationship with his selfish, toxic father, played well by Chris O’Dowd, an actor better known for his comic roles, and with grandpa Abe, played with warmth by Terence Stamp. Those more realistic human relationships are the central thing that elevates this film. Jake’s budding relationship with Emma adds a little romance without dominating the tale. Samuel L. Jackson provides a wildly eye-rolling performance as the sinister Mr. Barron, bouncing between comedy and menace, a performance which viewers may love or hate.
All in all, MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN is a refreshing, invigorating change for director Tim Burton, a bold step away from his usual quirky, humor-laced and colorful Gothic fantasy and into a new creative direction. The result is the director’s most original film in years, one that shows a more mature tone while still providing plenty of his signature fantasy tale.
4 out of 5 stars
MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN hits theaters everywhere September 30, 2016.
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