What Burton is able to do to contrast the two different time periods works really well. When Jacob is in 2016, there is a very cold and blueish tint in the frame, which resembles Jacob perfectly. In his own time period, he has always felt out of place and that he didn't belong. He has always been seeking an adventure for as long as he can remember and until he finds one he will never be truly feel like himself. By having his world feel and look very cold, the audience is able to see why he seems out of place. When we switch over to the older time period (when we get to Miss Peregrine’s home) the image becomes a lot warmer and brighter. For me this was a great way to show that even though this is a completely new world for Jacob, he feels as though this is where he belongs.
For me, the problem lied within the last act. It did not seem to fit what we had been watching throughout the film up to that point. I don't want too spoil what happens but one thing I did want to mention is how Jacob eventually becomes the leader of the children, which seemed very out of place because he didn't know them for too long. The children seemed to look to him for the answers and to be the leader. Up to that point Jacob is still trying to figure out who he is. It just seemed too fast of a transition to me and too forced for Jacob’s character. I guess I just wanted to see more scenes between Jacob and the rest of the children to get his sense of connection with them and make the switch more relevant. With a run time of just over two hours it can be tough to keep the audience engaged for that long; especially with long dialogue scenes. However, I do feel those types of scenes are necessary to have in the middle of the film in order to establish a stronger connection between the characters. One other problem I had was that some of the acting and dialogue was just subpar. I didn't really fell that Asa Butterfield was the right choice for this role. He certainly looks the part of the outcast in this story, but I just wasn't buying him as the character. That isn't to say that I did not like any of the acting. Eva Green is fantastic as always and Ella Purnell really stood out for me as well. I guess I was just expecting more from Butterfield. And you are probably thinking, “well this is a fantasy film so how real can the dialogue really be?” True, but when some of the dialogue is overall very basic, it can be hard to see how this is different than anything we have seen before. Some of it felt forced in order to move the story forward. I did enjoy some parts though (especially the scene where Miss Peregrine reverses time back) which made the film entertaining at parts, but some of the scenes were just let down by the dialogue. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was just an overall disappointing film for me. With a great premise, great actors and being in the hands of Burton I was expecting this to be another classic experience from him. The film delves into the classic “coming of age” story, but seems to fall apart by the third act. Bottom Line: Die hard fans of Tim Burton’s work will probably enjoy this fairly well. But if you are looking for another classic film of his, this one just isn't there.
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AuthorPat Brennan: Recent Film grad from Temple University with a love for all aspects of film. David Fincher for life.
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