Movie Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

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With only so much good ideas to go around, it is not surprising for works of art and literary masterpieces to have something in common with others that came before them.

In this regard, people cannot be faulted should they compare Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children to the X-Men and Groundhog Day, as well as Back to the Future to some extent.

Based on Ransom Riggs’ debut novel, the movie tells the story of Jake Portman who wanted to uncover the mystery behind his grandfather’s death. His search for the truth eventually leads him to the titular home, which is akin to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, and discovers that the house and its occupants are stuck in a time loop where they are repeatedly re-experiencing a specific day in September 1943.

In true Tim Burton fashion, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children kicks off by setting a dark mood and tone as it introduces key characters one after the other. Although it does not offer any mind blowing plot twists, the film keeps viewers on their toes by revealing the motivations behind some characters and making them second-guess whether they are friends or foes.

As the movie nears its end, the audience is treated to brighter lighting and colorful fight scenes, signaling that the main characters are about to resolve the film’s major conflict, but not after hinting that a sequel is highly possible especially when you consider that Jake’s adventures continue in the novel Hollow City.

Unlike other fantasy films such as Sucker Punch, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’s seems to find the balance between having the cast play out scenes in real and computer generated locations. Further, it manages to keep the story and its characters interesting without going over the top with special effects, dialogues and background music, something that appears to be popular these days.

As for its cast, most of them including Asa Butterfield and Ella Purnell did a decent job. While the pace of the movie did not call for astounding performances, none of them did anything worth criticizing harshly. However, Eva Green is on a different level as her wardrobe, poise, facial expressions and the delivery of her lines turned her into the personification of Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine. Samuel L. Jackson, on the other hand, was underutilized in his role as Mr. Baron although he made the character a bit more interesting with the way he carried himself throughout the course of the film.

For what looks like a movie for kids (the word children is in the title after all), Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children tackles a lot of dark subjects that may be too much to handle for people ten years old and below. In addition, the movie suffers from the usual inconsistencies found in most films that delve into time travel.

Even though Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children did not receive a lot of hype and was not well marketed to Filipinos, it turns out to be surprisingly good. It managed to harmonize various elements from different source materials to give a fresh take on commonly used concepts and ideas. For those looking to catch a break from all the superhero blockbusters while still getting your dose of sci-fi and fantasy, the film is worth seeing.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5