823. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Running Time: 105 minutes
Directed By: Tim Burton
Written By: Tim Burton, Caroline Thompson
Main Cast: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Alan Arkin

A VERY MAGICAL FILM

"You can't buy the necessities of life with cookies"
-Bill Boggs (Alan Arkin)

With my wife asleep, thus rendering the Netflix streaming to our bedroom television useless, I trotted off to our DVD room, which also houses a television and had my pick of the ninety-two movies that we own, that are also within the pages of the "1001" book. Tonight I picked "Edward Scissorhands", a film that I haven't seen in ages and one that we own due to my wife's infatuation with Johnny Depp. But then again...who's wife isn't infatuated with Johnny Depp?

The film tells the story of Edward Scissorhands (imagine that), who is one day discovered by Avon saleslady Peg (Wiest). Edward is not a human being, but rather a creation of The Inventor, who created Edward before his death. Edward was complete, save for his hands which The Inventor never had the time to finish, and thus Edward is left with scissors for hands. Peg being the kind hearted person that she is, offers to take in Edward, who has never been out of the giant castle atop the hill that he calls home. Edward is then whisked away to the suburbs, where he begins living with Peg, her husband Bill (Arkin), their son Kevin and their daughter Kim (Ryder). At first the nosey suburban neighbors welcome Edward with open arms, seeing him as a change to their routine lives. Edward returns the favor of the neighborhood hospitality by showing off his "handy" talents, which include trimming hedges, pet grooming and hair styling. Eventually Edward falls in love with Kim and this presents a conflict with Kim's arrogant boyfriend, Jim (Hall).

SPOILER ALERT!

As I mentioned above I hadn't seen this movie in ages and what I remembered as an innocent film, actually had some deep themes involved in it and it got me to thinking about some various aspects of it. The first thing that popped out at me while watching "Edward Scissorhands" was the fact that it was almost like a reverse "Frankenstein". Instead of escaping the castle where he was created, like Frankenstein's monster, Edward was rescued. Instead of having nothing but cruel intentions, Edward's intentions were all good and instead of being feared by the townspeople/neighbors, Edward is, at first, accepted by the community and welcomed.

The other thing that really grabbed my attention about this film was the underlying theme of violence. When Edward comes off of the hill and out of his castle of solitude, he knows nothing of the outside world and Peg pretty much takes it upon herself to teach him the ways of the world. Edward, already previously receiving a few lessons in etiquette and manners from The Inventor, is already a polite and gentle soul, but Peg build his politeness and gentleness up further. The community welcomes Edward and Edward shows gratitude to the community, keeping up with his gentle and altogether nice demeanor. When violence and hate are shown to Edward in the form of Jim, Edward at first tries to ignore it, but ultimately turns to violence himself and eventually kills Jim when his hand is forced...no pun intended. It kind of mirrors society, in the way that I think most people who are characterized as violent are ultimately pushed to that violence by another force, be it another person, or an event that makes them so upset that they feel violence is their only way out.

I think another theme we have on display in "Edward Scissorhands" is how people who are different will ultimately always be ostracized. The film is so heartbreaking, not to the point of tears for me personally, but just to the point where you really feel for Edward. I love the line in the film where Kim asks Edward to hold her, in which he has no other choice but to reply with..."I can't". Anyway, let's get onto the specifics here. The acting is fine and I particularly loved Alan Arkin and Dianne Wiest. The music is a must and really creates an aura and atmosphere that really fits in with the entire movie. Tim Burton has never been one of my favorite directors, and actually until tonight I really only acknowledged one of his films as a favorite and that is "Big Fish". Sometimes his style works for me and sometimes it just doesn't and this is one instance where everything clicks and it's that Tim Burton rub that makes the film exceptional and really drives all the points home while still having the outlandish sets, costumes and characters.

One more thing that I want to mention quickly that the book pointed out, that I actually didn't notice on my own. The book makes mention of the fact that most of the actors in the film are cast against their type, with Johnny Depp, the usually cool heartthrob, playing the awkward outcast and Anthony Michael Hall, who we all know as the nerd from "The Breakfast Club", playing the popular guy. Something I didn't notice that is definitely true and may be one more reason why this film is a bizarre Burton masterpiece.

RATING: 8/10 I really can't see anyone disliking this film, but hey...I've been wrong before. Bottom line - I enjoyed the hell out of it and am glad that it sits upon my DVD shelf.

MOVIES WATCHED: 166
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 835

October 20, 2010 2:22am