brilliant biopic

Rating: 10/10 (1 December 2007)

Anyone familiar with Ed Wood's story, and I think that takes in most movie buffs, will be nodding his or her head in knowing amusement several times during 'Ed Wood.' It is the masterfully told tale of the legendarily not-so-masterful director of the same name. In fact, that may be its biggest transgression: it's too well made to fit the subject. Be that as it may, Tim Burton has crafted a loving but unsparing look at Ed Wood and friends. Wood himself is overshadowed at times by Martin Landau's uncanny portrayal of Bela Lugosi, which not only won an Oscar but is quite simply one of the greatest performances by any actor in any movie, period. It is at once sad, funny, poignant and even poetic. Johnny Depp plays Ed Wood, and while he doesn't really look like him, he certainly conveys Wood's boundless enthusiasm for film-making convincingly. He also invests the character with Wood's small-town naiveté, and makes his cross-dressing seem almost, well, normal. It makes sense to Ed Wood anyway. The film succeeds on many levels, for instance in its depiction of how low-budget movies were made in the 1950's. Any student of the cinema will find that part of the film fascinating. Burton wisely shot 'Ed Wood' in high-contrast black and white (the only way to go for this material) and his recreations of Wood's movies are very convincing, even when they are matched with the actual original footage. It's a shame 'Ed Wood' was such a flop at the box office though it is understandable as well. Audiences for the most part had no idea what it was about, and were not inclined to see a movie about the worst director of all time. Sometimes original or unique stories are simply proclaimed 'wrong' by mainstream film-goers and that is the fate that met 'Ed Wood' in its initial release, though critics loved it. This is a film that bears repeated viewings, as there's something new to be seen every time and a host of wonderful performances by everyone involved. I think even Ed Wood would have loved 'Ed Wood.'