A fine mystery with great visuals

Rating: 7/10 (19 October 2001)

From Hell, based on the expansive (read: phone book length) graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, is a strong mystery with great visuals. The film is even more interesting than I expected; aside from its mysteries and scares, it also has some interesting unsettling elements; some I think were intentional, some not.
The Hughes Brothers impresssed me with some strong visuals and a moody, evocative interpretation of 1880's London, complimenting a retelling of Jack the Ripper as a Seven-ish murder mystery. Johnny Depp is the Inspector assigned to the case, who also happens to drink heavily, smoke drugs, and hallucinate vital clues to his cases. Heather Graham is one of a group of prostitutes that Jack has targeted for murder.
Graham's Mary Kelly is the movie's biggest problem. As a gorgeous movie star with a bad British accent, she sticks out from the rest of the fine ensemble as a poor casting choice. The rest of the prostitutes she pals around with are plain, dirty, and probably more "realistic." Graham's porcelain face and fire red hair stick out like a sore thumb.

As I said, the rest of the cast is excellent, and the film really gets under your skin. I've never seen anything by The Hughes Brothers before, but they are visually exciting directors, and I'll be looking into the back catalogue to see what else they've done.
The unsettling elements come in the form of things like Graham as a Victorian hooker and the lack of likeable protagonists, and the ending that is both formula Hollywood and defiant independent cinema. Often commercial aspects and directorial vision seem to be duking it out, even within individual scenes. I don't think either side truly wins; we're left with a mixed bag of emotions and styles.
From Hell has a few graphic moments of gore that will turn off some of the weaker-stomached in the audience. And the ending hits as many hollow notes as good ones. But still, while it's not the most satisfying movie, it is never boring. Almost a great film, it winds up an intruiging good film with some unfulfilled potential.