Have you ever seen a mysterious picture? Something that looked fake or photo shopped, but it also looked so real that you thought for a moment that maybe it was? Well, a while back, author Ransom Riggs found a collection of photos like this, and those photos were the inspiration for the book series “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”
The books are creepy and fantastically written, and whenever something is creepy yet whimsical all at once, there’s only one man who can truly bring it to the screen: Tim Burton. You’d be forgiven if you thought that his reputation as a director doesn’t mean much these days, what with his previous films being the 2010 “Alice in Wonderland” and “Dark Shadows.”
Make no mistake though, the film serves as a return to form for Burton as under his direction the film’s world flourishes. It is beautiful to behold, and the colors and special effects pop and sizzle. Burton has stated that he has done his best to use practical effects as much as possible, and although CGI is used for most of the scenes, you can see where the practicality makes the world seem that much more alive.
For example, when children show off their powers, it’s almost always realistically. Emma, who can fly, does so in real-time, not with a cartoony CGI version of herself, and the creepy puppet-like objects that Enoch brings to life are stop motion mostly, lending the world its odd sense of wonder.
Eva Green is perfection as Miss Peregrine, and each of the children are wonderful as well. Granted, some are given more screen time than others, but they all shine. Ella Purnell shines as the flying Emma, as does Hayden Keeler-Stone as a boy with prophetic dreams and Finlay MacMillan as Enoch. My personal favorite, though, is Lauren McCrostie as Olive, the pyro kinetic teenage girl. She’s just wonderful and lights up the screen whenever she’s on it.
The music deserves praise as well. You’d be mistaken if you thought it was Danny Elfman though. It’s actually the work of Matthew Margeson and Mike Higham, who have both worked with greats like Hans Zimmer and Elfman before. It’s weird and enchanting, sounding like a beautiful string orchestra mixed with the music from Burton’s Chocolate Factory film.
Unfortunately, the film is bogged down by an overwhelming amount of exposition in the beginning and a disappointing climactic fight. It seems as if the film is building towards something great, and when it happens, its meaningful but also kind of sloppy compared to the weird brilliance shown early in the film.
The beginning can in part be forgiven as one can assume that it feels so dull because Burton wanted to create a contrast between the worlds, which is understandable as the present day world does seem to feel just a bit duller than the Peculiar’s one.
“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” invites you to a wondrous world, and it makes a good case to come and stay. Through an engaging and fantastically bizarre world, it overcomes its few narrative troubles to become a remarkable film. With standout performances across the board and a winking sense of the weird, “Miss Peregrine” invites you into its home with open arms and creates a wonderful film in the process.
4.5/5 stars
Photo Courtesy of 20th Century Fox, Chernin Entertainment, Tim Burton Productions, TSG Entertainment, Scope Pictures St. Petersburg Clearwater Film Commission, and Ingeniøus.
