Don't Know Jack

Rating: Null/10 (25 March 2017)

Hoping to uncover the motives of Jack the Ripper, a London policeman enlists the help of a prostitute of this fanciful take on the historical murderer whose identity remains a mystery still today. The film is atmospherically shot by the reliable Peter Deming and there are some neat stylistic touches such as time lapse night to day sequence as the police discover one victim's body. Generally speaking though, this is a bit of a lacklustre affair. The film's explanation of the Ripper murders as a part of an elaborate conspiracy to hush local prostitutes never quite rings true. It is almost fascinatingly twisted enough for the lack of credibility not to matter, however, the fact that Johnny Depp's protagonist uncovers the conspiracy through clairvoyance and intuition rather than actual detective work makes it hard to buy into. Imagine if Kevin Costner's character in 'JFK' used his dreams to argue against Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone and you would not be far off. The film is additionally cheapened by a romance developing between Depp and Heather Graham, cast as the prostitute who helps him. Not only does their romance do little to further the tale, the pair have few sparks between them, with each balancing Victorian accents not helping matters in the slightest. Small moments of 'From Hell' certainly work, such as Joseph Merrick making an unexpected appearance and the coins on the eyes myth, but as far as Jack the Ripper stories are concerned, 'Time After Time' and 'Murder by Decree' are far preferable motion pictures.