Burton's best?

Rating: 8/10 (27 April 2005)

Two towering performances from Johnny Depp and Martin Landau are the jewels in the crown in Tim Burton's glorious satirical biopic of Ed Wood (Depp), the so-called "worse director of all time". The film follows Wood as he aspires to create a big-time blockbuster, refusing to let a string of awful flops (Glen or Glenda?, The Bride of the Monster), his own cross-dressing activities and the troubles of his washed-up "big star" Bela Lugosi (Landau) stand in his way. Depp and Burton could have gone for the obvious - an outright mockery of Wood - but instead achieve something far richer; Wood comes across a sympathetic character whose blind determination and enthusiasm comes across as touching, even admirable. Depp's versatility as an actor is never more apparent whilst Landau fills the role of the tragic Lugosi inside out. There's little to fault here - the ending is perhaps a bit abrupt - but the film has too many merits for it to be tainted. A wonderfully entertaining movie and one of Burton's best.