The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: 

on MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016, 127 minutes, PG-13)

The Quick of It -

Director Tim Burton loves to find those ‘peculiar’ projects.  His filmography is filled with them, and there are plenty more out there to be had.  This particular one fits right in with the rest.  The first inception of this young adult book by Ransom Riggs was to be a collection of unique photos he had gathered over the years.  But he was talked into adding a narrative to connect the images, resulting in this fantastic tale.  In theory, it may have worked for the book, but for the film... 

Now I don’t know who is to blame, but I was disappointed that the full potential for this story was never realized, being that this is a fully financed production.  The runtime shows Burton and any attached ‘clip happy’ editors are given plenty of leeway.  Over two hours of screen time should give most films a chance to build a story properly.  In some ways, this could easily be overkill considering most studio standards.  Not for MISS PEREGRINE.

MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDERN is about a boy (Asa Butterfield, of HUGO, ENDER’S GAME) who enters into a hidden world of ‘peculiar’ kids after his grandfather, played by the very capable Terence Stamp (the original General Zod of SUPERMAN II), is abruptly taken from him.  He soon finds out his grandfather, believed to have had dementia, is more than he seemed and his bedtime stories are far from fiction.  You have to remember, this is a young adult movie, and this is established from the point of view given.  There are also plenty of dark moments, humor and visuals, to get a fair sense of the original material from Riggs. 

The problems I encountered are with the dialogue and sputtering scenes.  You could almost believe that the photos are the core thought to each character and location, but the continuity is shoddy.  It isn’t that you get lost along the way on what is happening, it comes from the emotional attachments falling to the wayside as they try to progress the plot, making their impact less meaningful.  You are inundated by a good number of complex and simple relationships with storyline subplots that seem to become more important than others by the way they are presented, until they try to remind you of the previous attachments, now trying to overshadow the new.  It is hard to believe that Tim Burton is the director and would allow for these stumbles to happen. 

The highlights of the film, as with most Burton films, are the creepy elements and the heightened importance of a complimentary soundtrack.  The music by Michael Highman, notably connected to other Danny Elfman projects, does a wonderful job.  And you can’t go wrong with having Florence and the Machine involved.  These aspects helped to keep with the Burton tradition, even if the story struggled.

MISS PEREGRINE’S will be touted as a ‘must see’ but you have fair warning.  Burton has not been as successful in recent years, reference the ALICE projects and DARK SHADOWS, but my faith continues in his skills and his ability to make unusual films.

Grade: C+