Burton's great comeback

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2000)

Tim Burton is not my favorite director, but is certainly one of I most admire. His dark style, present in a great part of his films, is just amazing and magical. Talking about magic, he is able to pass it to the audience in each of his films. In "Batman" and "Batman Returns", he adapted very well the story of the man of shadows in Gotham City, what didn't happen in the two Joel Schumacher films. "Edward Scissorhands" is one of the most magical and sweet films of the '90s. In "The Nightmare Before Christmas", Burton did an inventive and weird animated movie. In "Ed Wood", maybe his best film to date, he could do a biographical story at the same time controversial and hilarious. And "Mars Attacks"... Well... It's his weakest film, but still that rather enjoyable. To repair this small mistake, he wonderfully adapted an old American tale- "Sleepy Hollow"- and did his great comeback.
"Sleepy Hollow" tells the story of Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp), a New York detective who believes only in what he sees. He goes to a small village in order to investigate some strange decapitation murders. The inhabitants claim that they were commited by a weird creature who is part of the folk of the place- the 'headless horseman'. Crane, of course, doesn't believe in anything at first, but a childhood trauma and a romance can help him with his mission. I won't tell more things about the plot, because I don't want to spoil your surprises, and so that the film gets more enjoyable and intriguing to watch.
It is difficult to say if "Sleepy Hollow" is Tim Burton's best. It doesn't have the sweetness of "Edward Scissorhands", or the ingenuity of "Ed Wood", but it is a very special film. It is original, dark, with a strange black humor and sometimes scary. If I had to define the genre of this movie, it would be fantasy. More than comedy, horror, mystery. Because, in the deep, it is beautiful- and don't forget there is a romance!
The acting is fabulous, specially Depp and Christina Ricci- one of the greatest promises of Hollywood for the future. Its dark, wonderful cinematography is definetely Oscar-worthy, and so are the costumes, the art direction, the special effects and the make-up effects.
"Sleepy Hollow" can be not of the 10 year's best, but it is one of the most enjoyable, exciting and entertaining films of last year.
So prepare for some scares, much fun and a great twist in the end. HEADS WILL ROLL...
8 and 1/2 out of 10