Alas, "Brave," lopsided in its focus and confused in its impulses, won't or can't acknowledge that. She is the least simple of the characters and the one that best exemplifies the film's title. But in the case of "Brave," it's not, because the movie is structurally locked into promoting a conclusion that the filmmakers don't completely believe, one that might even be at war with their own unconscious impulses: Merida is the heroine. That's pretty twisted, and twisted can be good. Then Dad, not to mention an entire community, tries to kill Mom. Think about that: Daughter tries to kill Mom. Arrest made in anti-Semitic hate sticker incident at UAlbany.State Inspector General releases limo report after furor over delay.Living in a van works for local insurance agent.Saratoga's famed 'Palazzo Riggi' has a potential new owner.Family affair: Saratoga County-raised siblings charged in Jan.Furthermore, what are the unconscious impulses behind a story about a daughter, having committing this crime against Mom, then turning around and becoming Mom's greatest defender - even to the point of protecting Mom when Dad unknowingly wants to kill her? Indeed, what are we to make of a movie about a teenage girl who poisons her mother? That's really what we're talking about here: The daughter gives her mother a poisoned cake that turns Mom into a bear. To be sure, this approach makes the mother-daughter interaction more realistic, but it also invites the viewer to see the characters in realistic terms, and to judge their actions accordingly. Indeed, the movie may tilt the balance too far in Mom's direction, so that the film's ostensible heroine ceases to seem adorably spunky and becomes more like an awful brat. Merida may have problems with Mom, but the audience sees Mom's point of view as well. Instead of presenting its characters as archetypes of either good or evil, "Brave" offers something different. **** Excellent *** Good ** Fair * Poor See More Collapse Rated: PG for some scary action and rude humor
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