A VERY good ride

Rating: 7/10 (16 December 1999)

Tim Burton's incarnation "Sleepy Hollow" sends viewers on a journey with Icabod Crane (Johnny Depp), who has been exiled to investigate a series of mysterious murders in upstate New York so as to rid New York City courts of his objections to their methods of ringing in justice. Armed with a plethora of investigative gadgets of his own making, he is much like a panicky, somewhat slow version of Sherlock Holmes ... if he fainted a lot.

Crane meets the cast of town elders and their juniors, as well as Catrina (Christina Ricci), the somewhat enigmatic daughter of the host who summoned him from NYC.
The story follows Crane and his young sidekick, an orphaned boy who is perhaps slightly more bold than Crane himself, as they look into the murders, search for the missing heads, and attempt to deduce exactly what the motives could be and who is behind the murders, not to mention who or what the horseman actually is.
I enjoyed this film immensely. It had the characteristic Burton touches, where even the use of shades of brown would perhaps be considered too flamboyant for the screen. It used flashbacks effectively to flesh out the Crane character, using bits from his childhood which give the viewer an insight into how he is constituted.
Depp delivered an extremely fine performance as the fish-out-of-water constable, and the comedy of the movie reveals itself through Crane. Ricci's performance was acceptable. There really wasn't a great deal that could be done with her character and the voice given Catrina, so no performance would have really shone through. The young sidekick, as well as other supporting characters (including those portrayed by Jeffrey Jones, Miranda Richardson, and Christopher Walken) were played very well, also.
The story itself wasn't anything special, nor was the way it was presented. You know what to expect when you go to a Tim Burton movie, and you get it.

The intangible this film delivers is, for lack of a better term, fun. This is a FUN movie to sit back and watch. The chase scenes and fight scenes are top-notch and invite the viewer in to the point where you feel almost as though you're there, trying to avoid becoming the next victim to fall prey to the horseman's sword or axe.
It was shot beautifully, had solid performances, and takes the viewer on a ride that eclipses any single element of the film. Not for the overly-queasy, but definitely worth a big screen nod. (12/16/99)