The parallels of so many other stories are there in this sweet fantasy.

Rating: 10/10 (7 September 2013)

I remember sitting in the theater when this first came out and totally blown away by the snow drifting over the 20th Century Fox logo and the sudden influx of the Danny Elfman music which drifted me off into the fantasy world of this strange suburb world where a castle on a strategically placed mountaintop once was the residence for a sweet old man so desperate for a son, he created the title character. In the prologue of this film, beloved thespian Vincent Price saunters along the corridors of his castle, preparing to give his invented son Edward (Johnny Depp) everything he needed, that is, besides hands, which unfortunately were never able to be placed on him.
Swing down to earth where unlucky Avon lady (Dianne Wiest in her most perfect mom role) decides to trek up to the castle and make a sale. There she meets the lonely Edward and brings him home. But as fascinated as the family is with Edward and his scissorhands, there's also a danger there as the enchanted neighbors take all sorts of interest in the newcomer to their community. Kathy Baker's flirtatious Peg obviously lusts over him with ambrosia salad, cheery Conchata Ferrell takes him into be sharpened, but there's also warnings from a religious obsessed neighbor who thinks him evil.
There is evil in the valley, but it's not through the Frankenstein Monster/Pinocchio/Jesus Christ like Edward. He instills joy both with his haircuts and with his trimming of the local shrubbery. It's through the boyfriend of Wiest's daughter, Winona Ryder, obviously jealous of the growing affection between Ryder and Depp. Anthony Michael Hall gives a disturbing performance as the cheery on the outside jock who is all nastiness on the inside, getting Edward involved in a crime, and resulting in a chase sequence that results in a confrontation back at the castle.
While the plot requires some sort of violence in order to create the necessary tension, that doesn't take over the film, which is a series of vignettes of how Edward fares in regular society after being alone for so long. His neighbors love him as long as everything is cookies and paper machete cut-outs, but once fear strikes into their hearts, Edward is an outcast. Even the injured war vet who once compared his metal leg with Edward's hands now calls him a freak, and cheery Farrell threatens to call the police after a misunderstanding. It comments on society how something new and unknown can be exciting but once the reality sets in, people no longer accept it. Depp is sensitive in his sweet persona, and his chemistry with Ryder is undeniable.
As the parents, Wiest and Alan Arkin are a constant delight. In a performance I felt award worthy, Wiest is funny and touching, applying Depp's face with all sorts of cold cremes (of all colors) to fix the cuts on his face from his own scissors. Arkin gives a totally unaffected performance, his character so in awe of life as it happens, his child-like qualities exploding, even when he insists to Edward that you can't pay bills with cookies. The presence of Price in one of his last acting roles truly is touching. Try not to tear up as you see the beloved master of horror doing what he does best, entertaining, and influencing today's generations of superstars and creative film makers.
There's some comical touches that are impossible not to stick in the mind; The old lady at the beginning, telling her granddaughter the story, has an irony of familiarity to her, and the poor little girl lost in the huge bed, is awestruck not only by the story but by the constantly falling snow outside. It isn't hard to figure out why the narrative is the way it is, and when the old lady says her last line and that Danny Elfman music strikes up again, be prepared for the tears to flow once again.