The (First) Disaster Artist

Rating: 8/10 (25 February 2020)

Tim Burton's 1994 film Ed Wood is the perfect dramady. It balances a mostly true biographic feature on 1950's director Ed Wood' life with some comedic reshapings. The result, a fun Burtonesque piece that tickles your heart as you begin to understand and empathize with old Mr. Wood.
Ed Wood stars Johnny Depp in the titular role and features several other names well recognized today: Bill Murray, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Vincent D'Onofrio. The story arc covers several years of Wood's life. It begins with the events just preceding his directorial debut (Glen or Glenda) and ends soon after the completing of Wood's most infamous film, Plan 9 From Outer Space. Over the film's course, Wood realizes and answers his personal passion of telling stories through film. Sadly for Wood, he has not talent and refuses to take advice from anyone in the industry. In the end, just as in real life, Wood's films are lackluster and the target of endless mockery.
Burton's choice to shoot the film in black and white, mirroring the world Ed Wood created, was an interesting stylistic choice, but ultimately a successful one. The audience is deeply absorbed into the source material not only due to the visual elements. The old-timey movie cadence in which all the characters speak is immersive too! Every character is perfectly cast. Depp, for once, does not appear as a character created around his real-life persona. Instead, he feels authentic, as though he were Ed Wood in the flesh.
I am almost certain that The Disaster Artist, another more recent film which comedically dramatized a failed director, took several cues from Ed Wood. Gladly so, both films are triumphed and can stand more than one viewing. Kudos to Burton and crew for turning a poorly received director into a relatable and likeable figurehead that represents every artist's internal fears.