Ugly beautiful

Rating: 6/10 (29 June 2005)

Adapted from a comic book, The Hughes' brothers film 'From Hell' is arguably more faithful to its origins than any other of its type. That is to say, the whole movie unfolds like a series of storyboards, the scenes may technically be animated but you can mentally crystallise each one into a handful of definitive images. Darkly Gothic, ultra-violent yet also quiet, the film has also a very well defined aesthetic sense, one arguably more pervasive than that in any of the movies of Tim Burton (with which some stylistic comparison can be made, although 'From Hell', unlike Burton's movies, is utterly lacking in whimsy). It also has a stellar British cast (Ian Holm is especially good value) supporting its leading (American) actors; who, sadly, cannot quite manage the cockney accent as required. Moreover, the usually charismatic Johnny Depp for once fails to leave sufficient impression, and his double act with sidekick Robbie Coltrane is surprisingly lacking in fire on both sides. Additionally, a little of the dialogue is anachronistic or just plain odd. Overall, 'From Hell' doesn't really add up to more than series of pictures, some are individually horrific but there's no wider sense of terror beyond the individual moments of gore. Perhaps it should have stayed as a comic book (as such, it would have at least the elegance of economy); but no-one can deny that the translation is beautifully done.