the rise and fall of Edward Scissorhands and the inhabitants of a small town

Rating: 9/10 (1 February 2003)

You could have thought that Tim Burton would rest on his laurels, following "Batman"'s huge commercial success. Well, not at all. "Edward Scissorhands" appears like a more serious, more mature and even touching movie. This modern fairy tale links skilfully elements from the basic fairy tale (the castle) and elements from the social life (Peg's job as representative for a cosmetics firm) and it can be divided into two parts: the first one that epitomizes Edward's rise: thanks to his scissorhands that give him gifts as a hairdresser and a gardener, he becomes the idol of the town. The second one that shows Edward's fall, following a burglary in which he was inconveniently involved in, he becomes the town's bête noire (and the movie becomes painful) Tim Burton tells this modern fairy tale by introducing a lot of poetry, and during his movie, he tries to create an aesthetic beauty and he succeeds in, especially with the gardens of the castle, Edward's sculptures and Edward himself is good-looking in spite of his scissorhands. But "Edward Scissorhands" is also a movie of contrasts. There's an obvious contrast between the brightly coloured town and the dark rooms of the castle but also one between the bright town and its inhabitants who are scornful or mocking. Besides, they're the object of a satire of the actual society and Burton tries to underline its weaknesses. Of course, the inhabitants appreciate Edward but only for his gifts. Otherwise, they're mistrustful towards him because, in their eyes, he's different and eccentric (you could be one of the inhabitants!) and the single mistake (the burglary) can lead to unexpected consequences... Whereas Johnny Depp, he's simply extraordinary and finds here, one of his best roles. He provides to his character, a lot of tenderness, affection and above all, a deep sensitivity. At last, Tim Burton knew skilfully how to blend several cinematographic styles in just one film. In "Edward Scissorhands", you find everything: comedy, fantastic, horror and drama. Moreover, Danny Elfman's gothic music is widely gorgeous to create an intense emotion. It's sometimes difficult to hold his tears... All in all, a movie which is both tender, cruel and Tim Burton's best movie after "Ed Wood".