Edward Scissorhands
Dir. Tim Burton, 1990
| Rated: PG-13 | Writers | Starring |
| Runtime: 1 hr. 45 min. | Tim Burton | Johnny Depp |
| Producers: Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi | Caroline Thompson | Dianne West |
| Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox | Winona Ryder |
Reviewed by Robert Ring. 11.3.08
Before I watched this film again to write this review, I don't believe I had seen Edward Scissorhands since I watched it during its theatrical run in 1990. However, as is the case with a number of people I have spoken to over the years, it remained in my memory as a fun, moving film with a perfect mix of sadness and imagination. A mysterious but friendly man created by a not-so-mad scientist and given sets of scissors for hands -- how could a movie like that not plant itself in your subconscious? Recently I began wondering whether this movie is really so great. Now, eighteen years after seeing it for the first time, I'm happy to say that Edward Scissorhands is every bit as good as I remember it.
Just outside a quintessential 1950s American town complete with colorful houses and perfect lawns, there is a dark, decadent mansion that is never visited and hardly even acknowledged. One day an Avon door-to-door saleswoman named Peg visits the mansion in desperation for a customer. Inside she finds a man all alone, a man with scissors for hands. Edward, it is later explained, was built by an old, reclusive inventor (played by the great Vincent Price) and given scissors for hands until a true pair of hands could be created for him. Before real hands could be given him, however, his creator and only acquaintance died, leaving him to live all alone in the mansion. Though frightening in appearance, he turns out to be very kind, and Peg takes him home to her family in order to offer him love and friendship. Very soon everyone in town is wanting to meet this strange visitor, and Edward quickly becomes a local celebrity. It is not long, though, before he is framed for burglary,automatically deemed guilty by the town, and never viewed the same way again. It is a take on one of writer-director Tim Burton's favorite themes: the outcast.
The character of Edward (which is played by Johnny Depp) is perfectly acted and written. He is always timid and unsure of himself, but he has certain comical qualities, particularly the short-stepped, face-down walk he does when trying to get away from something. He is given very few lines, but he does have the ability to speak, very clearly in fact. When he does talk, his lines are as innocent as those of a child. When a crazy woman accosts Edward in the name of God and turns to his caretakers, saying, "Have you poor sheep strayed so far from the path?" Edward replies with a tone indicating he truly believed she meant everything she said literally, responding, "We're not sheep." Edward is a kind person, and these attributes make us love him all the more.
Edward's design also works to establish his character and his mysterious nature. His face is powder-pale and ridden with scars, his hair is wildly unkempt, and he wears a leather suit so tight and so heavily adorned with straps and rings that it does not look like it could ever be removed. Of course that's to say nothing of the fact that his metacarpals are, in fact, cutting utensils. When we see him for the first time, crouching in a dark corner of his empty mansion with his blades hanging toward the ground, he looks like a bird of prey, waiting for something to devour. But when he walks into the light and approaches us, we see that this beast is really just a lonely young man, one who not only does not fit in with society but who cannot fit in with society. Even during his moments of happiness, there is always some sadness evident in his character.
Another aspect of the film that is indispensable to its aesthetic success is its score, composed by the legendary Danny Elfman. It is impossible to stress the impact of this score enough. It beautifully conveys a sense of wonder, admiration, and loss, perfectly fitting itself to the themes of the film. It is interesting in that it rarely contorts itself to highlight certain moments. It keeps the same tone throughout, adding not only emotional depth but thematic continuity to the events on screen. While the acting and the plot are the substance of Edward Scissorhands, the score is its magic. Even as seasoned and talented as Elfman is, this score remains one of his best.
Page 1
