A highlight of Burton's early career

Rating: 6/10 (31 October 2016)

I'm not a huge fan of director Tim Burton although I seem to have seen all of his movies over the years aside from his early shorts and his most recent couple of offerings. I saw EDWARD SCISSORHANDS years ago and liked it for the fairy tale ambiance and allegoric story about being an outsider and the search for acceptance into society.
Watching it nowadays, I'm pleased to report that EDWARD SCISSORHANDS holds up a lot more than Burton's contemporary work like BEETLEJUICE. It's a film which is sentimental without ever being sickening, and oddly heart-warming in places. It's not a perfect film because I found the depiction of suburban America to be too derivative and over the top to work (and it's been done far better in the likes of THE STEPFORD WIVES and even DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES). The supporting performances are over the top and the less I saw of Winona Ryder's supposedly sweet love interest the better.
Still, there's good stuff here too. Johnny Depp is good, there's no denying it; he's hidden inside his character and playing it quite subdued without any of the annoying attention-seeking that would come to blight his career. The cameo from old-timer Vincent Price is heart-warming and oddly upsetting given how close to death he was at the time of filming. I enjoyed the darkness and tragedy inherent in the storyline and the ending is particularly strong. Watch out for former geek Anthony Michael Hall, now unrecognisable playing a jock - what a change!