Truly bizarre film, but good.

Rating: 7/10 (14 December 2002)

The writers of this film, Tim Burton and Caroline Thompson, have quite a strange imagination. But, I guess strange imaginations usually yield the best films. This film is not a masterpiece in my opinion, but it was very fun to watch and had a lot of good stuff in it. The story is nothing but bizarre from start to finish. There are a few things in the film that aren't really explained to you, so I guess you just have to fill in the gaps with your own explanations. For instance, I was unsure if Edward was a human put together from other human parts (like Frankenstein) or if he was a machine/android. There were other aspects, like this, that weren't really explained, but that didn't hinder my enjoying of the film.
The cast was very good. I could not believe that Edward was played by Johnny Depp. They did a fantastic job with his make-up, his wardrobe, and of course the scissorhands. Johnny was fantastic as Edward. Winona Ryder was great as well, she looks very different as a blonde, but I'm not complaining, she looked great! Dianne Wiest was also great in the film. Anthony Michael Hall was quite a surprise to see in the film, and plays quite a different role than his well known 1980's films ("The Breakfast Club", "Sixteen Candles", "Weird Science"). He really pulled off the role rather well. Alan Arkin was a perfect choice for Kim's (Winona Ryder) father. I have always liked his acting, and he didn't let me down in this film. Another notable cast-member is The Inventor, played by Vincent Price. I don't know much about him other than I know he is well known for his roles in horror films. He was a perfect choice for the role of the inventor in this film, and did a great job. The rest of the cast was very good as well.
The music in this film, composed by Danny Elfman (as you can expect from a Tim Burton film) was excellent. Elfman's work is quite funny to me because you can tell immediately that it is his work. His music is so distinctive. I couldn't help but think of the first "Batman" film when I heard the score in this film. I really liked the score quite a bit and if you like Elfman's other work, then you'll more than likely like his score in this film as well.
Like I said above, I wouldn't call this film a masterpiece, but it was definitely worth my time to watch it. The film really is quite interesting, fun to watch, and quite touching at times. This film has a lot to say about human nature and accepting outsiders and what not. I'm not usually one for "deeper meanings", but at least that's what I got from the film. I'm not really sure that I would recommend this film to everyone, but if you like Tim Burton's other work or are just a fan of Johnny Depp or Winona Ryder, then go ahead and give it a chance. I hope that you enjoy the film, thanks for reading.
-Chris