Eternal Optimism

Rating: 9/10 (7 August 2015)

I just never got around to seeing this. It was worth the wait. Ed Wood was one of the most optimistic beings ever to set foot on this earth. He had a love for life and a spirit that, unfortunately, greatly outpaced his talent. One thing to remember is that money always influences art. Some of the shortcomings of his films had to do with extra takes costing money. Film has never been cheap. But this need to be efficient and timely, also led us to some of the most memorable (though bad) footage in film history. The fact is that he "did" get the films made. He did have a family of actors that stood by him. He did eventually find someone to accept his being a transvestite. I don't think "worst director ever" is quite fair because those guys never got a film made, let alone any for major release.
Then there is his relationship with the morphine riddled Bela Lugosi who becomes dependent on him. Wood gave graciously, looked out for the sad old man, and brought him "back to life." Martin Landau's performance is outstanding as the classic horror star, living with regrets and what ifs.
Tim Burton pulls this off beautifully, giving his film the cheap appearance of Wood's films. Depp is charming as the ever positive Wood, always making lemonade when life threw him a new lemon. Excellent film.