Flawed but redeemed by a few great scenes

Rating: Null/10 (18 September 1999)

Edward Scissorhands had some beautiful moments, its heart was certainly in the right place, and it had some relevant things to say about how we abuse people who are "different." But I still think Roger Ebert is right about this film, though--the writers (Tim Burton & Caroline Thompson) take a fabulous creation but give the story melodramatic twists 2/3rds of the way. Then again, it's quite unconventional for a Hollywood film (possibly up there with Terry Gilliam's work and Being John Malkovich.)
And I can't in good conscience give this film anything less than 3 and 1/2 stars (out of four), because it did make me tear up in a few places, something almost no movie can do. (Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life is the other recent successful tearjerker.)
Possible spoiler ahead??
Great scenes: The ice dance, all the scenes in the castle (particularly when Vincent Price is holding out the hands to Edward, heartbreaking), and the final scenes, starting from just after part of the castle collapses to the closing moments
The acting, set design, and photography are uniformly superb, but the best element is Danny Elfman's score. It's transcendent, luminous, and heartbreaking.