From Hollywood

Rating: Null/10 (31 March 2012)

An account of the Jack the Ripper case of 1888, "From Hell" is not a credible film for true crime buffs. The film's script contains too many major inaccuracies, and its conclusions are preposterous. Aside from false presentation of various real people, including Inspector Abberline (Johnny Depp), the film proceeds to "solve" the case with a solution that has been discredited for decades. Indeed, among serious "ripperologists", there still is no consensus on who Jack the Ripper was. A recently published book lists no fewer than 27 possible suspects, the surnames of which include: Druitt, Ostrog, Chapman, Cohen, Sickert, Gibson, Dodgson, Deeming, Thompson, and Williams.
As a fictional whodunit, with suitable red herrings, the film offers a little more, but it still contains problems. Characters are not adequately defined by name early on. The Abberline / Sergeant Godley relationship is a formulaic continuation of the Holmes / Watson relationship. And the film identifies the killer too soon; after which, the plot trends anticlimactic.
This film can be described most accurately as a fictional period piece thriller, with an emphasis on the lives of poor London prostitutes, known as "unfortunates", a social class counterpoint to the rich and privileged. In this context the story's theme would pertain to the inherent hypocrisy of the rich, amid strict, 19th century Victorian values.
Visually, the film looks good, as we would expect for a big-budget Hollywood production. Sets and period costumes seem realistic. Highly saturated colors convey a dingy, sooty London, again probably accurate. But ambient sounds are unrealistic. And the background music is horrible. Not only is it too loud and manipulative, it's too synthesized and modern. It's the kind of music we would expect in some modern dark zombie movie. Casting is acceptable. Robbie Coltrane gives a fine performance as Sergeant Godley. But Depp seems bored.
Melodramatic in tone, "From Hell" offers viewers an interesting, and reasonably accurate, interpretation of prostitutes and their environment in London's Whitechapel district of the late 19th century. But as a viable, authoritative account of Jack the Ripper and his crimes, the film, typical of Hollywood, cannot be taken seriously.