We're back in the wacky world of Uncle Terry, where no shot can be left untilted, and all characters are contractually bound to be on looney overdrive throughout. This has worked to quite wondrous effect on occasion for Gilliam, notably in Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, where it served as an apt delivery system for the visions of, respectively, an oppressive dystopia, a compulsive fantasist and the paranoid bender to end all benders. Here, however, it merely becomes irritating before long, much like a rollercoaster-and-candy floss combination the third time around. The grim subject matter of Jeliza-Rose, a girl orphaned by parental drug abuse, is given an arrestingly fresh spin, but the film's retreat with her into the cocoon of her fantasies is such a complete withdrawal from the horrific reality of the situation that after a while it's difficult to care deeply about the impregnable protagonist in her twittering armour. This is a pity, as Jodelle Ferland's performance in the role is breath-takingly assured, so much that one worries for her future, considering what the Hollywood system routinely does to its child stars.
5/10
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