To love and not be loved

Rating: 8/10 (21 March 2020)

Edward D. Wood Jr., arguably the worst director of all time, was an optimistic man--he never filmed a shot he didn't like and that is something no other filmmaker can say. His will was nearly unbreakable, recovering from anything. His only perpetual shadow tormenting him was that, in the back of his head, he knew he is not made for movies.
The lack of reciprocity of the love he gave to the art-form is something which director Tim Burton hasn't focused on too much, but it was still felt even among the amount of inevitable comedy that came from his struggles to do whatever it takes to get a movie underway. Johnny Depp gave an Oscar-worthy performance as a misunderstood and strangely flamboyant man--Ed Wood liking to dress in women's clothing, but he was straight. His artistic vision was pure and innocent like a child--you can see it in Depp's performance every time Wood lets his imagination run rampant. Indeed, Wood was a very childish person, but not in the bad, immature way. The movie world fascinated him, he would express his innocence and child simplicity with every piece of work he puts out, the atrocious reviews representing his coming of age. Yet while Hollywood encourages childish and over-ambitious, unrealistic dreaming, it also requires a man's touch to transfer those dreams to the big screen. Ed Wood lacked this transition.
Wood went to great deals to execute the movies in his head. To look at the ridiculous lengths and compromises he did to ensure he can work is a thing of fascination. Looking at his career path, which involves getting finance from ridiculous places like a butchery or even a church makes it hard to believe that it was true--and voluptuously funny. More amazing is his circle of co-workers. It starts off pretty standard with his girlfriend, Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker), his second girlfriend after splitting up with Dolores, Kathy O'Hara (Patricia Arquette)--then it gets more interesting as he is joined by Vampira (Lisa Marie), a former talk-show host with a shtick for horror, The Amazing Criswell (Jeffery Jones), a fake psychic TV host, John "Bunny" Breckinridge (Bill Murray), Ed's close drag-queen friend, Swedish wrestler Tor Johnson (George "The Animal" Steele) and many others. What an unbelievable and awesome circus-like crowd.
Yet among them was one more person. Retired horror movies veteran, Bela Lugosi. Ed Wood was fascinated with horror's mystery and mysticism and Bela Lugosi was an idol to him--despite everyone thinking he's dead. Martin Landau's performance of the late actor was a great tribute, Lugosi being a scene-stealer every time he would show up. Tim Burton portrayed his fall into loneliness, old age and Hollywood obsolete-ism better than it did its lead character's own struggles. Being the historical face of Dracula in Hollywood, Landau played Lugosi as a man who always stayed in character one way or another.
Of course, Ed Wood had another hero, the great Orson Welles. He would often compare himself to him in wishful thinking and although there was a scene in which the two met at a bar, in reality that never happened. Even if most his dreams remained dreams, after finishing "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and seeing a full crowd at the premier, Wood exulted, perhaps for the first and only time, a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction--"this is the one I will be remembered for".