3 out of 5

Directed by: Terry Gilliam

The first Terry Gilliam movie that I saw, or knew that I was watching, was The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.  I loved it, and I somewhat immediately figured I loved Gilliam as a result, reading about his other movies and digging the concepts immediately.  When I would get around to watching those – Time Bandits, Brazil – I would check them off as favorite films as well, and eventually add them to my collection.  When I was savvy enough to catch his flicks in the theater, I could justify Brothers Grimm and Tideland as worthwhile variations amidst his oeuvre, working within or outside of studio systems. But I started to grow weary of rationalizations with Doctor Parnassus, and when I would revisit his older films, I discovered that, well, I was downright bored by some of them, Brazil included.  And the only one I could really stand by, wholly, was Munchausen.

Gilliam is a visualist.  That’s fitting for a director, sure, but his sense of storytelling is very much tied to what it ‘means’ to tell a story.  This has gotten tied to protagonists mixed up in situations beyond their control – usurped into the film’s story – but only when that’s allowed to truly be the idea explored, e.g. Munchausen, does it really land.  The sneaking suspicion that his following ideas of whimsy instead of what might make sense for his characters or story otherwise makes parts of his films rather hollow.  And the Monty Python background that’s forever added a slight smirk to his proceedings often undercuts tension when it’s required.

12 Monkeys, viewed at a point when I was still in Gilliam fandom, got instant credit in that regard, as well as my adoration of Bruce Willis, and that the film put him into better standing amongst his 90s B-movie entries.  Secretly, though, I fell asleep when I first watched it, and found my intentions wandering on viewings thereafter.  And it’s very much for the reasons mentioned above.

The story of James Cole (Willis), time traveler from a disease ruined future, trying to convince modern day psychologist Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) that his warnings of doom are legit and not crazy-man ramblings, should be a premise for a great, ticking clock sci-fi thriller.  That’s in there, for sure, with one of Bruce’s best performances – possibly his best – bringing Cole to life as a man struggling with trying to figure out his own sanity, much less how to do his job of reporting back to his time with relevant information, and Stowe bringing an amazing amount of warmth and credibility to her part, equally making her descent from sensibility into possibly suspended disbelief believable.  Gilliam the visualist provides some wonderfully twisted future sets, with humans living underground in plastic- and wire-lined decrepitness.  But the first chunk of the movie, which has to do the heavy lifting with the story, isn’t shot or directed like a typical thriller.  Occasionally, Terry stays out of the way for more ‘procedural’ parts, and these are very strong, but he’s more fascinated by Cole’s out-of-time confusion and, during his stint in an asylum, the antics of inmate Jeffrey Goins (Brad Pitt).  There’s definitely some metatext to how James’ quest to find ‘the army of the 12 monkeys’ – supposedly responsible for the virus which would make his future occur – is vague and mired by confusing story elements, but this is more used for Gilliam’s sense of playfulness than the film’s benefit.  When we’ve rounded the corner and the story focus is allowed to shift to our doubt on what’s truth and fiction, in the film’s latter section, it becomes gripping; this is where Terry’s style starts to fit and work best.

The movie is still a fun watch, it’s just never quite the serious sci-fi romp it could be.  I dig Brad Pitt, but he was never able to fully sell me on Goines; his performance is a little too practiced and somehow restrained.  Willis, though, is stunningly effective.  It would seem Terry managed him well enough, but I wish for another film that would have inspired him as much as this material seemed to, or for a director who pursued the film from a direction that could have made it epic instead of mostly entertaining.