It's 1799. Detective Jonny Depp is dispatched
into an isolated village to bring to heel the
dastardly villain who is beheading the inhabitants.
This flick was full of trademark Tim Burton
scenes: jagged, twisty, gnarly architectures,
sculptures and trees; spooky, stygian, haunted
ambiences and settings; Danny Elfman score and
women swirling picturesquely in the midst of
falling white particles. But these elements
are familiar now. Scarecrows, halloween pumpkins,
we've seen it all in his other stuff. That wouldn't
be so bad but, in trying (not very successfully)
to simulate the Hammer Horror magic, Burton
did not create his own distinctive magic.
And the eyeballs-springing-out-and-back-into-their-sockets
effects, as seen in The Mask, were cheesier
than the moon when hosting an intergallactic
stilton conference.
Jonny Depp disappointed slightly too, but this
could have been due to unfocussed direction.
I loved him in another Burton movie, Edward
Scissorhands. But in this he didn't seem able
to decide whether to play it camp or straight.
He was supposed to be terrified and yet did
not have the aspect of a man in bowel-losening
fear. Another complaint: he generated about
as much chemistry with the (strangely stilted)
love interest as lethargic xenon on a rainy
day. He didn't seem truly immersed with his
surroundings or blend with the character actors.
I enjoyed "Sleepy Hollow" when, all
too briefly, the veterans were wheeled in: Michael
Gambon, Jeffrey Hughes, Ian McDiarmid, Richard
Griffiths, Christopher Lee... These were poetic
scenes. But they were fleeting scenes. These
guys were (big surprise) wasted. But now I'm
into my thirties, I am irritated that Hollywood
is forever chasing the adolescent buck. And
teenagers are not entertained by actors old
enough to be their parents/grandparents.
The baddie was a headless horseman who liked
nothing better than lopping off other peoples'
heads. He was Darth Maul without a bonce wielding
a sword without batteries.
"Sleepy Hollow" is a very
mixed
film. Visuals: glorious and gothic. Aging thesps:
a bit of a treat. Headless horseman: spiffing.
Score: interesting. All else: mediocre, tedious
or laughable. Exploding windmills? Depp rattling
his tea cup in its saucer out of fear when he
is told an utterly preposterous anecdote? And
so on ad nausiam. Much of this is probably spoofy
tongue-in-cheek stuff but even if it is it adds
nothing to the shape of the film.
And
- Reactionary Mary Whitehouse bit -
there is a gratuitous and playful scene showing
the slaughter of a
family that is downright
sick. Violence for the sake of amusement eh?
Puts Hollywood's squeamishness towards movie
sex and nudity into perspective.
Jim's Better Half's observation: "Casper
Dien could battle the mushy peas, tomato sauce
and baked beans of
"Starship Troopers"
but couldn't battle the headless horseman."
The
headless horseman enjoys a pint of ale by literally
pouring it down his neck.
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| From: |
Marien | Subject: | 2003-06-29 19:33:07 |
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| From: |
Anna | Subject: | 2003-11-15 21:12:52 |
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