between the lines

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2003)

It's a Tim Burton movie, folks! As such, you should know before you even see the opening credits that you will have to read between the lines. Burton is never concerned with stereotypes, he considers them as given. Instead, what he does is - he twists the stereotypes to their most nightmarish extreme. The perfectly incompetent secretary becomes a feminist anti-hero. The child that has been casted away wants to become the mayor by using his sad past. The cold power plant owner is a nice father. The millionaire is not only a superhero, but a superhero who is looking for a soulmate. So, give this movie a couple of chances before you decide about anything. I have seen it three times and I am still discovering new things in the abundance of information that this movie has to over. It is over the top, of course, but you know that Burton uses that approach in order to show something. Keep this in mind and enjoy it.