The definition of Burtonesque and lets not forget Elfmanesque

Rating: 8/10 (14 October 2006)

Not Burton's absolute greatest, that honour goes to Ed Wood but everything I associate with Tim Burton is here. The moody atmosphere where everything, though seemingly pretended to be so ordinary, is just a little off. The characters are not well defined from the absolute beginning and it takes a while before we even know what the events portrayed are supposed to lead to.
As for Johnny Depp, what can you say other than "Excellent". He may have the least amount of dialog ever for a lead role (except maybe Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson) but what a performance, and keep in mind, this was his one of his first lead roles. He had a bit in Platoon and maybe he did "Cry-Baby" before this but Burton really lets him have a field day here. This is almost like seeing Chaplin come back to life.
As for the supporting cast, Dianne Wiest is absolutely the definition of a suburbanite with too much time on her hands. The color of her dress says it all and the choice to give her glasses is just spot on. Alan Arkin's role is virtually taken out of an old sitcom. Just listen to him trying to explain the definition between right and wrong to Edward. That little kid from "Honey, I shrunk (whatever)" is just plain annoying, though. Winonna Ryder was also relatively new to movies and you can't really complain about her performance, just say that it's not the best she has ever done.
Finally, I will mention Anthony Michael Hill who absolutely shocked the hell out of me when I saw this for the first time many years ago. To go from playing the nerd in "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" to this is one weird thing to see. He handles both extremely well and it's a shame that he will forever be branded that brat-packer who was the youngest player on "Saturday Night Live".
As for the end of this film, it is kind of disappointing. To think that the angry mob accepts the explanation Ryder gives them is a little like seeing an episode of "Married With Children" that has a happy ending. Burton cheated a little there and to wrap the whole thing up with Depp in the garden of his castle is just a little bit tacked on. Otherwise, this is really a good movie. Not great, but what are you gonna do?