The Tiger Rising review: Dennis Quaid, Queen Latifah lead a messy fantasy

When the movie version of Katherine Paterson’s children’s book Bridge to TerabithiaIn 2007, it was published. The marketing hyped a thrilling fantasy adventure and epic CG action. This is in line with the Narnia brand. The book, which is an emotional, heartbreaking exploration of grief and childhood friendship, was not a lie.

The Tiger Rising, a new film from director and writer Ray Giarratana, based on Kate DiCamillo’s kids’ novel of the same name, seems to be employing the same strategy. Trailers suggest a fantasy tale that explores the true story of the Florida tiger. The story ultimately focuses on grieving. While that central metaphor and story is powerful, Giarratana’s film buries it under layers and layers of superfluous fluff.

[Ed. note: This review contains some spoilers for The Tiger Rising.]

The Avenue

Rob Horton (Christian Convery) is a shy boy living with his father in a rundown Florida motel after his mother’s death. He has a hard time at school, where the kids pick on him and make fun of the strange rash that’s developed on his legs. Sistine Bailey, a new girl (Madalen mills), upsets feathers by calling her classmates uncultured rednecks. Rob stands up for Sistine and they bond over an appreciation of art. He takes her to see a caged tiger he discovered in the woods behind the motel, owned by his father’s seedy boss, Beauchamp (Dennis Quaid). Sistine wants to set the tiger free, consequences be damned, because no creature should be locked up where it doesn’t belong. But Rob is more cautious about that, fearful of what Beauchamp will do if he finds out they let the tiger go — even if he doesn’t think that the creature should be caged.

These two kids share a fascinating, yet attractive opposites-attract bond. Sistine tends to be aggressive and confrontational, while Rob prefers being cautious and cautious. They bond deeper than just their shared love for art. Both of them are considered outcasts at school and are struggling with their traumas. Rob tries to suppress the grief he feels over his mother’s death, while Sistine still believes her father — who left her mother for his secretary — will eventually come back. They have to deal with their emotions. The film is much about this, assisted by Willie May (Queen Latifah), who acts as a motel maid.

But though Sistine and Rob’s friendship and their respective trauma in the present would be enough to carry the movie, it’s bogged down by incredibly frequent flashbacks. Although some scenes of Rob’s mom are essential to establish his bond with her and their love of art, others are redundant, and fill in space rather than telling the story. In one particularly oddly paced scene, Rob’s father yells at him after discovering the rotten meat Beauchamp gave Rob to feed the tiger, thinking Beauchamp is pitying them for not earning enough money. In the middle of that argument, Giarratana cuts to a flashback of Rob’s mother and father sitting on the couch together. She offers her a cup of tea and then takes out the wooden block she made of the pair. The moment is a jarring interruption — while it’s supposed to evoke the blissful days of a time gone by, it comes so abruptly that it punctures the tension of the fight. Even more so when Rob isn’t a significant part of the memory — he’s just watching from a doorway.

The Avenue

There are many The Tiger RisingSimilar feelings are felt. A quirky introduction sets up one character as an art-teacher, and she is only featured in two scenes. There are wild special effects that are supposed to reflect Rob’s big imagination, but they ultimately distract from the core emotions. The scene transitions fade out and are replaced by sound effects more suitable for an iMovie presentation. Some of the dialogue is heavy-handed and clunky: When the school principal decides Rob should stay home due to his rash, he says’ he’ll write a note to Rob’s parents, — then dramatically pauses and corrects himself to just say “father.” It’s gratuitous at best and downright distracting at worst, taking away from what could be a streamlined, evocative story about grief.

Still, the genuine emotion in DiCamillo’s original story is hard to suppress, even amid bombastic visual effects and stilted dialogue. The tiger isn’t just a tiger, it’s a metaphor for Rob’s grief and Sistine’s anger. When they finally decide what to do with the tiger — a confident, assured choice that’s meant to be triumphant — it’s easy to get caught up in the childlike fantasy. This makes it all the more difficult to deal with the reality crash.

Exploring grief is the best way to get through it IsYou can find it here The Tiger Rising, it’s just buried beneath all the noise. Rob can see Sistine gnawing Beauchamp. Rob can recall every time he had a relationship with his mom. There are schoolyard ruffians who sound like they’re spitting lines from a “How to be a Bully” WikiHow article. The powerful metaphor of the tiger barely gets time to really sink in, which is a shame, because the movie’s final moments are gut-punching in the best way. Giarratana doesn’t seem to trust that the story of two kids and their emotions is enough of a draw onscreen, so they fluff up the movie to bolster the drama — but really, they should have just let the tiger run free.

The Tiger Rising Premieres at the theaters Jan. 21