A portrait of an offbeat humanity

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2007)

Edward Scissorhands to me represented the inhumanity of the mass, the complacency of people when faced with the troubles of society, of the individual. In the beginning, everyone loved Edward, everyone profited from him. However, at the first sign of trouble the walls began to collapse. The crowd who joined to embrace Scissorhands turned against him as his flaws became apparent as the eerie and offbeat hedges he sculpted and that everyone seemed to enjoy.
A scene I can recall but that seemed to make this point was the confrontation between Kim's (Winona Ryder) boyfriend Jim (Anthony Michael Hall) and Scissorhands/Depp. Jim, an embodiment of the cruelty of youth, was shoving Edward, who slipped and sliced Ryder/Kim's hand. He then chased Scissorhands away, while the contented father character, within earshot, continued to set up his Christmas decorations on the roof, confused about why the protagonist fled. That illustrated to me the father's inability to grasp what was beyond the obvious, and his neglect of his would-be stepson, the decorations a facade of an easy-going everyday.
Another point I liked was the end, after the mob had decided Edwards fate. What struck me was the fat woman, who casually said after the dramatic scene she wanted to go home, the first of the mob to disperse. It seemed cold, like a dog-eat-dog sort of scenario, and was a slice into the veil of civility people use to make for smooth but one-dimensional interaction. I think there's a difference between niceness and intention, and sincerity. Everyone's relation to the main character was this superficial show, and the almost mute Scissorhands was sort of left a mystery to the viewers, except when revealed by the only true friend he had, Kim.
The film overall related, to me, to the illusory layers of optimism that shield people from all the shortcomings of the world around-- and can be contrasted with the truer reality of mishap and conflict that usually lie beneath the surface, in an imperfect world. It seems to face the dilemma of whether to choose popcorn and bubblegum, or take things for what they are. Like in the movie, most seem to find it difficult to try this-- or to take the experience in stride-- and that's the inhumanity of it: the coldness, like ignoring a homeless person during winter-- and I found the film a very interesting depiction of this, even more so because of Burton's strange creativity.