A gorgeous and dreamy spectacle

Rating: 10/10 (19 November 1999)

Tim Burton has delivered yet another beautiful, frightening gothic masterpiece in "Sleepy Hollow." This movie surpasses the "Batman" movies in the depth of melancholy and stylish gloom it embodies. That is not to say that this is a completely dark film - far from it. But it is suffused with the aching loneliness and utter sense of alienation embodied in the character of Ichabod Crane. Johnny Depp's beauty is used to convey the absolute fragility of the character. Crane's journey from terror to resolution and finally bravery in the face of a seemingly unstoppable foe is portrayed both starkly and with a touch of sensitivity as well. I disagree with those critics who saw the portrayal of Crane's childhood trauma as a distraction. Those scenes showed exactly why Crane became the man he was, and why he approached the situation he found in Sleepy Hollow as he did. Life often takes us to places that force us to confront all of the traumas and inner demons we would prefer to leave buried. In "Sleepy Hollow's" dream-like images, we are taken through one man's harrowing attempt to face all that he fears -- death, loss, pain, the unknown and fear itself -- in order to emerge more whole than before. Depp played Crane as a "frightened schoolgirl" for a very good reason; Crane wilfully halted and repressed his emotional growth at an extremely young age and attempted to supplant that side of himself with intellectual pursuits. When events dredged up hidden memories of past horrors from his unconscious, his emotional reactions were those of a child. Christina Ricci's character serves as the perfect counterbalance to Crane, very emotionally aware, yet also strong enough to face the horrors around her. The film is a beautifully-wrought vision of a man attempting first to avoid, then to accept and defeat, the irrational side of human nature. It was pure joy to watch.