A Darker Hollow

Rating: 8/10 (28 October 2005)

Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a story that has incessantly intrigued throughout its many years of existence. How could it not? The idea of a ghostly headless horseman out to decapitate others in order to restore his own, um, shortcoming is undeniably interesting. However, many feel that Irving did not explore the dark side of this subject matter nearly enough, as he primarily focused on romance. Those who think that should not be disappointed by Tim Burton's adaptation, Sleepy Hollow.
The story has been altered a little. Ichabod Crane (Depp), a young big city detective (instead of a school teacher) interested in unconventional methods, is sent to the small town of Sleepy Hollow in order to solve a series of beheadings that the townspeople insist were committed by a mythical murderer named the Headless Horseman.
Burton, a director famous for his dark Gothic films, certainly does not stray from his signature visual formula here. Sleepy Hollow is bathed in perfectly recreated Gothic sets accented by undeniably effective bleached cinematography. This film is really quite beautiful to look at, in the manner that an ominous storm on the horizon is. Burton also injects a dark, violent edge into the story that Irving did not, and this will either please or repulse. I must admit that I was delighted to see the Headless Horseman receive the gritty treatment he deserves. He is actually portrayed by two actors in the film: Ray Park for the headless sequences and the always wonderful Christopher Walken for the scenes requiring a face. While Walken's performance is competent, I was surprised to find myself more impressed with Park. He provides the Horseman with impeccable intimidating body language and somehow manages to develop the character much more effectively than Walken, even though he never shows his face. Park has also delivered impressive performances as Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace and as Toad in X-Men. I'd love to see him tackle some bigger roles.
But I digress.
Though the film takes a considerably darker angle than Irving's book, there is still a romantic subplot between Crane and Katrina (Ricci), a comely young woman, that is, for the most part, enjoyable, though it does provide one of the corniest exchanges ever put on celluloid: -Katrina: Do you think me wicked? -Crane: No... but perhaps there is a little bit of witch in you, Katrina. -Katrina: Why do you say that? -Crane: Because you have bewitched me.
Yeah. Ugh.
Another element that tones down the dark feeling a bit is that Sleepy Hollow is a horror comedy. There are some insidiously funny moments, such as Crane's frank explanation as to why a dead body should not be repositioned at a crime scene. The film occasionally ignores basic physical laws in order to deliver a gag (for instance, Crane is sprayed in the face with blood while performing an autopsy - the body's blood would obviously not be flowing), but it's all in good fun - just don't over-think it.
Johnny Depp portrays Ichabod Crane with a giddy, eccentric, nuanced, and utterly delightful glee - just further proof that he is one of the finest actors alive. Another performance that warrants mention is that of Ian McDiarmid (known to most as Senator/Supreme Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars).
When I first saw the film, I gave it an A-, most likely because I was overwhelmed by how fantastic the film was visually, but upon rewatching it, I really had to demote it to a B+. Why? Well, to put it bluntly, the writing is just bad. The dialogue is really quite dreadful at times and, toward the end, the story becomes ridiculously convoluted. If a film has a basic plot as fascinating as Sleepy Hollow does, it's really not necessary to throw in a supremely confusing subplot about how the Van Whos double-crossed the Van Whats in order to exact revenge upon the Van Wheres. It just causes headaches. The film also has a pretty standard, formulaic action movie climax.
But flaws aside, Sleepy Hollow is a fun, entertaining Gothic horror comedy, and fans of Burton or Depp should not be disappointed.
8/10