FOLLOW THE CHARACTERS!!!

Rating: 10/10 (22 November 1999)

I've read every submitted review about this movie, and it seems the biggest quarrel everyone has is with the plot, the script, and the monologue near the end... I'm writing this in defense of all three, and hopefully giving everyone some tips on watching this cinematic masterpiece.
DO NOT go into this movie thinking you can watch it passively. It's about as complex as Cris Carter's alien conspiracy from the X-Files. It may be as brilliant and stunning as Burton's previous movies (of which I DO include Mars Attacks, which I loved), but the line between good and evil isn't as clear-cut and it doesn't have the "get the bad guy" plot of his two installments of Batman. If you quickly forget faces and names, you will get lost with "Sleepy Hollow" and may need the near-the-end monologue to rescue you. If, however, you closely follow the characters and start ACTIVELY watching by trying to piece together the puzzle from the given clues, the monologue takes on a different purpose. Listen closely to the early dialogues between Ricci and Depp about the townspeople, then watch for the similarities between Depp's flashback scenes and pieces of Ricci's childhood, and the reasoning behind the Horseman's killings should be obvious. Then comes the monologue... and it will rip to pieces everything you were thinking. This is sheer brilliance. This is something of which few writers are capable. This is the stuff of which Tim Burton movies are made. This turnaround is what makes movies like "Sixth Sense", "Diabolique" and "Se7en" so good. However, where those movies turned things around visually, "Sleepy Hollow" does it verbally, showing you that while Burton may have some visually stunning effects and sets, he doesn't rely on them to move the movie along. The monologue turns the movie from what could be a tidy little Hollywood storyline into the realm of the downright twisted.
So as for the reviews that dog this movie for having no plot or script, pay no attention to them. Both elements ARE there if you're truly watching. This kind of subtelty and twisting of events is what makes for good moviemaking, and this movie is the perfect blend of excellent writing and visual effects. But remember... FOLLOW THE CHARACTERS CLOSELY!!! Don't forget their relation to the other characters or the story in general, and be sure to soak in EVERYTHING that is said and seen. If you do, you'll see it is easily the best movie of the year. 10/10 stars! -Eric