Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children empowers rejects of society

The new picture from the movie wizard Tim Burton takes the audience far away from reality, proving that the oddest things are applicable to any age and personality. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children introduces the viewer to a sea of peculiarities. From young-society rejects to Miss Peregrine herself, peculiar people are empowered with more than just their powers. At this point, one might think the film is no more than a collection of curiosities carefully fitted into a bright mainstream picture by Burton. However, the narrative goes beyond special effects and visually attractive sequences.

At the beginning, the viewers are introduced to the young main character, Jake (Asa Butterfield), listening to his grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp) in awe, transfixed by stories about his fighting with the monsters in a magical place in Wales. From there, the story about the awkward teenager takes off into a masterfully crafted plotline of Jake’s adventures in which the abandoned orphanage led by Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) faces threats from creepy monsters and the main villain Barron (Samuel L. Jackson). Eva Green’s supple manners and magnificent appearances are enough to embellish any kind of movie, but in this film she goes beyond and performs with a combination of warmth and sadness.

As Jake explores the new world and spends time with his new friends — the girl with the jaws in the back of her head, the boy with buzzing bees inside of him and the girl floating like a balloon — Burton continues to churn out engaging scenes. The story has many faces, as the teenage boy comes to grips with not only the threats from the villain, but with his own unexplored inner world.

He develops his personality far away from Wales, surrounded by funny and sometimes eerie creatures. While he evolves into a self-assured person, the plot plays a joke with the viewers, who may be lost between present and past. However, the interpenetration of bouncy and tragic rhythms throughout the film compensate for this slight confusion. These rhythms are appealing to both a mature audience and kids alike, as the story addresses controversial issues of growing up.

Butterfield’s performance proves to be a compelling delivery of the hero’s clumsy behavior and unflinching determination. Jackson brings horror into the narrative, with his character eating eyeballs as treats to keep himself human-like. As for the monsters — the director keeps clothes on them so that they have human features too. The child actors seem to fit the director’s penchant for freak characters, while Burton portrays their peculiarities in a moderate way in order to keep the story thoughtful. This attention to detail makes the movie fascinating and mass-appealing, as the tale contains both menacing and uplifting turns, filled with unforgettable visions.

Ransom Riggs’ young-adult novel seems to be a good fit for director’s tastes and skills. Burton uses his tricks from earlier pictures (Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands) to engage the audience and let the viewers pierce the tide of the euphoria while the characters are struggling in the imaginary world of peculiarities. The film is a hand-crafted and nurturing expression of Burton’s imagery, inviting the audience to join the trip to the spectator’s view of humanity.