Jeff Bridges reflects on his film ‘Tideland’: “That’s the weirdest movie I’ve ever done”
Jeff Bridges has been in the acting game since the early 1950s, so it’s no surprise that he’s appeared in a wide range of cinematic treats. He loves a Western, starring as Rooster Cogburn in the Coen brothers’ remake of True Grit, and has even managed to work cowboy characters into non-western films like RIPD and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. He’s conquered science fiction through the ‘Tron’ series and has cropped up in various other big projects, from Marvel’s Iron Man to the ill-fated Heaven’s Gate.
In 1991, he starred in The Fisher King, directed by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam. He plays Jack Lucas, a ‘shock jock’ radio DJ who meets a homeless man (Robin Williams) convinced that he is on a quest to find the Holy Grail. Despite his initial hesitance to work with Williams, the two make a great on-screen pair, and The Fisher King is an absolute delight from beginning to end.
The star was full of praise for the American-born filmmaker in an interview with Vanity Fair. “He loves to get all your ideas,” he said. “He wants you as involved as you can be. It’s wonderful when directors call on you. Some directors can cause people to get very tight. Terry’s certainly not that way.” Bridges clearly had a great time working for Gilliam, as he agreed to appear in another of his films – 2005’s Tideland.
Based on Mitch Cullen’s eponymous novel, the movie is the grim tale of a young girl named Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland). She lives in the middle of nowhere with her troubled family, so in order to cope, she creates elaborate fantasies, often involving severed Barbie doll heads that she sticks on the ends of her fingers. Bridges plays Noah, Jeliza-Rose’s father, who attempts to take her to safety after her mother (Jennifer Tilly) suffers a drug overdose. “That’s the weirdest movie I’ve ever done,” Bridges reflected on the experience. “I think it’s the weirdest movie Terry’s ever done.”
That’s a bold claim, as Gilliam’s filmography includes several bizarre entries. Brazil, widely regarded as his best film, is a twisted love story set in a world overrun by antiquated machines. Frank Zappa called it his favourite movie, which should tell you everything you need to know. There’s also 12 Monkeys, a Bruce Willis-led time-travelling romp, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, inspired by maniac-in-chief Hunter S Thompson, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, famed for being the final movie appearance of Heath Ledger.
Even with such stiff competition, Bridges is probably correct in his assessment. Tideland is really odd and not always in a fun way. Things get very bleak very quickly for young Jeliza-Rose; her imagination gets more and more vivid as her real-life problems escalate. Grotesque scenes of taxidermy and depictions of heroin use are among some of the tamer things depicted on screen. Honestly, it’s a miracle this thing got financed in the first place.
It might not be to everyone’s tastes, but Tideland is a perfect encapsulation of Gilliam’s refusal to accept the status quo. Bridges clearly recognised that talent, which is why he worked with him more than once. He is set to literally play God in the director’s upcoming film The Carnival at the End of Days, so there’s every chance he could break his own record for weirdness.
