Not As Good As I Thought It Would Be

Rating: 6/10 (21 February 2009)

If I hadn't read large quantities of Anne Perry's books (Pitt & Monk Mysteries) set in this time period, I might have found the blatant class discrimination in the investigation of the Ripper Case appalling. Also, she has exposed the warfare between the Monarchists/Masons and everybody else who wanted change.
If she hadn't already exposed the class discrimination that led decent women to have no choice to stay alive but to prostitute themselves and their horrific treatment in general let alone at the hands of the Ripper, I might also have found this shocking.
But the addition of Johnny Depp's psychic detective was wasted which is way too bad because he is generally better than this. Robbie Coltrane was wasted too and the substitution of Shakespearian quotes for his dialogue just got annoying after awhile.
This confused retelling of the theory that one of the Royal Sons of Queen Victoria was the ripper or the cover up blah blah mixed with the supposed secret Catholic marriage (which I was under the impression was the rumour about George IV when he was still the Prince of Wales and Maria Fitzherbert during the Regency period) doesn't make any sense.
To make matters weirder they say that the Prince used the name Albert Sickert and the disguise of being a painter which is a nod to the alternate major ripper theory that the ripper was Walter Sickert, an established painter and amateur thespian with a mutilated penis from a childhood botched surgery and a major grudge against women who represented sexuality (hookers) because he couldn't actually have sex.
Heather Graham did a better job with the accent than I thought she would although when she went home to Ireland you would think she would let her Irish accent come out rather than stick to cockney.
This movie might be considered a needed dose of historically accurate social class prejudice revelation for those who didn't already know (which includes most Americans) but if I want me some real Depp action I will just watch Johnny in the brilliant "Ninth Gate" again.