Saucy Jacky's Bloody Good Time

Rating: 9/10 (31 October 2001)

"From Hell" is not really a horror movie, though it has some gruesome and disturbing moments, but rather a modern serial-killer movie given an unusual setting, delving into our fascination with the first truly famous serial killer in history.
One of the nice things about making a Jack the Ripper movie is that it is a historical story, which lends it a certain gravitas and a built-in interest factor, but since history doesn't know for sure who the guy really was, you get to make up your own ending. "From Hell" seizes on one of the more far-out (and frankly, historically implausible) conspiracy theories surrounding the mysterious stalker of Whitechapel. Still, in Ripper lore there is plenty of "evidence" that can be construed to support just about any theory you can think of, and while the movie takes a few liberties with the historical record, a great many details are rooted in established fact. While I wouldn't view this movie as a conclusive examination of the case, it gives the story enough credibility that it functions quite well as a thriller.
The story follows Inspector Frederick Abberline (Johnny Depp), the detective charged with catching the killer (oddly, they consistently refer to him as "Jack the Ripper", even while the movie acknowledges that the letter bearing that name was probably a fake), while he navigates the seamy alleys of the East End, trying to protect the streetwalkers that seem to attract homicidal wrath (among them Heather Graham, as "Black Mary" Kelly; interesting casting choice, that) and contending with the interference of Scotland Yard's shadowy and muscular Special Branch.
One irritating thing about the movie is in the character of Abberline. Understandably, the movie makes him younger and sleeker so he can be played by Johnny Depp (the real-life Abberline was forty-five and married with children while investigating the Ripper case), but it also subscribes to the annoying convention of mythologizing the "profiler". I swear if I see one more psychic detective who gets otherworldly "vibes" about a case, I'm going to hurl my copy of "Journey into Darkness" through the screen. Hollywood seems uncomfortable dealing with profilers for what they are: experienced detectives who are able to detect patterns in a crime and extrapolate what kind of person they are looking for. Isn't that impressive enough? Abberline was, by most accounts, a dedicated and methodical investigator, but here he is a slightly dissolute dope fiend who gets flashes of the future and "sees" the Ripper's future victims while in an absinthe or opium-induced daze. Often, the "psychic detective" thing is used as a cheap springboard for a lazy screenwriter to avoid having to think about how the pieces of a puzzle might fit together; in this movie the "visions" are not only distracting, they're really unnecessary: they reveal little that a sharp guy like Abberline couldn't figure out from available evidence. They must have been interesting to film, though; I guess that's why they're in the movie.
Twin directors Albert and Allen Hughes made their mark in the 90s with the acclaimed "Menace II Society", one of the raft of inner-city neo-gangster opuses that were in vogue at the time. It seems the Hugheses made a deliberate attempt to make a movie as different from that as they could, and it would seem a shrewd move. After all, it took John Singleton a couple of movies to escape from the 'hood; and, remember what happened to Matty Rich? Yeah, me neither. Though "From Hell" is a story of another blighted urban landscape, there's not a drive-by in sight. Well, maybe by hansom cab.
The Hugheses make good use of the fetid, dire streets of 1880s London (actually, the movie was filmed primarily in the Czech Republic; apparently, London just ain't seedy enough anymore). They play with light in interesting ways, silhouetting the spires of London's palaces and cathedrals against a roiling red sky, suggesting that if we aren't actually in Hell, we're at least in a pretty close suburb with bus service there. The Ripper's hansom cab has twin lanterns that sputter with bilious green light; it looks like a primordial monster slithering through the night, which is a neat visual (useful, too; hansom cabs all look pretty much alike otherwise).
The cast is good, although more so in supporting roles than lead ones. Depp is fine, though his accent is weird. Heather Graham is better than I expected her to be, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't have been too hard to find a better actress (probably for less money). Ian Holm does well as a retired surgeon who advises Abberline on the investigation, an old man with an infirm arm and a few too many secrets to keep. Also standing out is Robbie Coltrane, as Abberline's loyal, over-literate sergeant. Fans of "The Elephant Man" will take special interest in a certain historical cameo.
The movie is well-paced, well-filmed, and delivers the thriller goods in fine style. It doesn't hold up to too much scrutiny, especially among those familiar with the real case, unless they're willing to be good sports. There are a few spots where, eager to fit in as many authentic details as possible, the characters do things that don't make much sense, and the exact motivations for some of the Ripper's actions are not made clear. I suppose you shouldn't expect too much clarity form a movie about an unsolved case. Ripperologists and aspiring forensic historians should not so much suspend their disbelief as zip it in a bag and leave it at the box office for a claim stub; you can pick it up when you leave.