Fantastically good biopic

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2015)

Ed Wood is, for me, without question Tim Burton's best movie. It's not exactly a typical Burton movie, although it does still have his stamp. It, of course, tells the story of the director Edward D. Wood Jr. who for some is the worst film-maker who has ever lived. I feel I should lay my cards out on the table up front in regards to this widely held view and say that Wood is not only categorically not the worst director ever, he isn't even close to being such. Anyone who has seen a selection of Wood's movies should be able to see that, while they may be full of silliness and mistakes, they are also utterly unique in approach and, best of all, highly entertaining. And, trust me, you can't say those two things about the output of the vast majority of directors in the history of cinema. No, Ed Wood is a treasured cult film-maker for a reason.
Getting back to Burton's biopic, it's a fabulous tribute to the man with an excellent script, beautiful look and some amazing performances. It's definitely a case of hats off to Burton for immortalising Wood with a film that pulls off the very tricky thing of celebrating the ridiculous nature of his work, while paying respect to his singularity of vision. We are invited to laugh at the shoddy content of his films, while being actively encouraged to respect the man for his passion and optimism. Of great service here is Johnny Depp, who truly plays Wood to perfection, making us understand how his films ended up the way they did without ridiculing him. There is plenty of drama to work off, with Wood's cross-dressing compulsion and his friendship with horror icon Bela Lugosi, who is an aging, heroin-addicted and poverty stricken man by this time. He is played with uncanny brilliance by Martin Landau. The make-up is incredible and you truly forget it is not Lugosi himself on-screen so wonderful is the acting. Later in the movie there is a key scene where Wood encounters Orson Welles in a bar. Here we have the so-called worst director of all-time talking on the same level with the man who is for many the greatest. The point of the scene is that, no matter the perceived abilities of the men, they both suffered very similar problems with getting their films made as they wanted them; both were highly personal film-makers and such types never truly fit in to the Hollywood system.
Stylistically, this is bang-on yet never over-does it. The brilliant opening credit sequence pays playful homage to the kinds of cardboard sets and terrible special effects Wood became synonymous with, while the very effective Howard Shore soundtrack is on the money. The decision to shoot is black and white was perfect as it mimics the world of Woods films. We are introduced to all manner of strange misfits who hung around Wood and appeared in his movies. The story covers the production of Wood's three most famous films, Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster and Plan 9 from Outer Space. Pleasingly, there is plenty of time devoted to each film and we are able to enjoy loving scene reconstructions from all, including some choice, strange and ridiculous dialogue.
Ed Wood is an equally hilarious and heart-felt film. It is about the love of movies. It's very inspiring, entertaining and poignant. A brilliant achievement from Tim Burton and a fabulous tribute to one of the ultimate cult film-makers of all time.