Brazil: More Than Just a Terry Gilliam Fever Dream (or is it?)

Okay, so I just rewatched Brazil and as always, my brain is officially scrambled. Gilliam is a madman, but a beautiful, visually arresting madman. I've been thinking a lot about the film's commentary on bureaucracy and technological control, which is pretty on-the-nose, but I'm starting to wonder if it's more about Sam's internal struggle with reality versus fantasy. Think about it: the whole film is visually chaotic, right? Overloaded with pipes, screens, and this bizarre, retro-futuristic aesthetic. But what if that's not just Gilliam being Gilliam, but a visual representation of Sam's fractured mind? His daydreams are so idealized and romanticized, a stark contrast to the grubby, oppressive world he inhabits. Remember that scene where he tries to fix the air-conditioning, and it's just a tangled mess of wires? That's basically his life in a nutshell. He's trying to 'fix' something in the system, but it's fundamentally broken, leading him further into his fantasy. And then there's Jill Layton, who is she really? Is she just a manifestation of his desire for escape, a damsel perpetually in distress, or is there a real person under that image? I'm leaning towards the former. I think, to be fair, the ending really nails it. Does he actually escape, or just retreat completely into his mind? I'm torn... and that's I think what makes the film so great (okay, maybe that bordered on generic, but, I swear I feel it!). Anyway, I'm curious what everyone else thinks. Am I reading too much into things, or is there something deeper going on with the layers of unreality that Gilliam creates? I'm fully prepared to be wrong, but I think exploring the blurred lines between fantasy and reality in Brazil makes it more than just a cautionary tale about dystopian futures.