From Hell

Rating: 7/10 (14 July 2005)

Jack the Ripper, whoever he is, once said "People will say I gave birth to the 20th Century", I don't know in what sense he meant, but he certainly made an impact in his time, and is still a significant figure of history. So this film set in 1888, Victorian London, focuses on the events concerning him. Basically drug-taking, premonition dreaming Inspector Frederick 'Fred' Abberline (Johnny Depp) is the man investigating the murders of many female prostitutes, with their throats slit and bodies mutilated, some with internal organs removed. One of the prostitutes in fear of this psycho Mary Kelly (Heather Graham), helping Abberline with the investigation Sgt. Peter Godley (Robbie Coltrane), and Sir William Gull (Sir Ian Holm) is the man who later seems to be the most likely suspect. That's really all I can say about the plot. Also starring Ian Richardson as Sir Charles Warren, Jason Flemyng as John Netley the Coachman, Katrin Cartlidge as Dark Annie Chapman, Lesley Sharp as Kate Eddowes, Susan Lynch as Liz Stride, Terence Harvey as Benjamin 'Ben' Kidney, Annabelle Apsion as Polly Nichols and Estelle Skornik as Ada. It is a chilling story, and the filmmakers specifically wanted to keep the violence to a minimum, in my opinion I think they should have exploited it, or better yet, reveal the real identity of Jack the Ripper while doing so. Very good!