"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" is a Twisted Modern Fairytale

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Tim Burton is a director who has the tendency to stir up controversy, whether it's from the dark subject matter of his films which sometimes tend to blend together in one bizarre neon green and black mess of gothic imagery with frail androgynous protagonists, his more recent mediocre releases (Dark Shadows and Frankenweenie), or some controversial remarks he made regarding representation of other races in his films, but it's important that we do not let the artist's personal beliefs and actions interfere with how fantastic his art is. That's right, to my surprise, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a fairly good movie.

Admittedly, I would probably refrain from using a word as strong as 'fantastic' to describe it, because it's certainly a flawed film with some awkward moments guided by the expected faltering performances which sometimes accompany films that rely on child actors being decent. However, the child actors in this film aren't too terrible, which is a relief because it's these children who have to carry the majority of the film through their dialogue alone at times. Eva Green gives a wonderful performance (as always, admittedly she's never let me down and probably never will), but the lack of screen-time that she is provided leaves something to be desired. Fortunately, Samuel L. Jackson's performance makes up for whatever else the film may have been lacking, because this is one of the few films I've watched of recent years where you can genuinely tell an actor was having an absolute blast making the movie. Samuel L. Jackson appears to be having so much fun in his role that it's hard to not be envious of what it was probably like to work with him on the film.

The charm of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children comes mostly from the fact that it is unashamed of how dark it is, featuring sequences which may even make adults squeamish but not so gory and graphic that it's not going to be suitable for children. In fact, Miss Peregrine is strikingly similar to the family films of the 80s, which weren't afraid to frighten children and give them instances where they felt brave for enduring the darker and more intense sequences of films such as Labyrinth or The Dark Crystal. It is for that reason that Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is almost like a modern day fairytale, where the darkness and cruelties which its innocent protagonist must endure is all part of his journey into adulthood and self-discovery.

I'll confess, I have not read any of the books which this film was based off of, but even if I had that wouldn't give me reason to change my opinion on this being a solid and decent film. Many of the reviews seem to base the film's failure on its failure to compare to the source material, but I am a firm believer in the fact that film must be judged on its own merit without being compared to whatever story or piece of art was the source of its inspiration. Bearing that in mind, I highly recommend Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and I recommend that you see it with your children this holiday season (as long as you're sure that they're capable of handling some darker and more frightening scenes).