Hmmm....

Rating: 7/10 (7 November 2009)

I'm not sure how come I missed seeing this until now - I've been intrigued by Ed Wood since the Medveds' books were first published, I like Johnny Depp, and I usually like Tim Burton's movies (on first viewings, at any rate). Anyway, I've seen it now.
It's a relatively straightforward recounting of the events in the 5 years or so from the point where Wood met Bela Lugosi to the point where Lugosi died. Of course, it just so happens that all Wood's highest profile movies had Lugosi in them, so they are all included.
The reconstructions are pretty accurate, and the casting is spot on. Martin Landau, in his Oscar-winning performance as Lugosi is excellent - old, frail, sensitive and cranky, and clearly the most talented individual in Wood's entire set-up.
In fact, the only performance I can criticise is Depp's - his relentless cheerfulness and confidence in the face of setback after setback becomes a little one-note after a while, which makes it slightly more difficult to care than it should be. Did this man really never comprehend how truly bad his films were? Conversely, the filmmakers clearly convey the respect in which they hold Ed Wood - he undoubtedly had a passion for film and, despite having no discernible talent as a filmmaker, he managed to get a number of feature films onto the silver screen, and the fact that none of them was very good does not diminish that achievement one bit.