Inspired

Rating: 10/10 (4 December 2000)

The first time I saw Edward Scissorhands was at the theater during its initial release. Towards the end of the movie, one of the viewers in the audience stormed out of the cinema, shouting, "Those b*****ds! That's my LIFE up there!"
There's something very visceral and archetypical about this movie (jeez, I sound pretentious, but there it is). It feels like a twisted fairy tale ... the 20th Century Fox logo behind a curtain of falling snow ... the first view of the castle rising on the mountain top behind the subdivision ... the flashbacks of Edward speaking with his "father" ... all of these elements build on each other and make ES one of the most brooding comedies I've ever seen.
Depp is wonderful here, and Winona Ryder is perfect (but BLONDE? ... I've actually heard a rumor that her natural hair color is blonde, but it looked a little like she was wearing a wig). Like any Tim Burton feature, it's a visual feast all the way through, and the outsider never quite gets inside.