Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Tim Burton
Burton Tells Classic Fairy-Tale, Superb Narration
A fantasy movie with some gore thrown in for good measure. Tim Burton at his usual superb self delivers an unforgettable fairy tale. People seem to forget that bedtime stories have one shared modus vivendi: they frighten at first, an unlikely (but inventive) hero struggles to rescue the fair maiden (or some variation thereof), and finally the climax is reached with the epic confrontation between the good protagonist and the forces of darkness, at which point light prevails in one form or another. Perhaps it is naive, but this schema has not only been working quite well for centuries but still satisfies this author.
Tim Burton delivers a classic tale and as a truly gifted story-teller, does it in his inimitable dreamy fashion. Decapitations, murder, and general mayhem intertwine with inexplicable love (which love ever is?) and passions exceedingly human in their baseness and beauty. Depp, whose curiosity triumphs over his cowardly nature, Ricci, whose angelic face at first seems charmingly innocent, then disturbingly menacing, and finally simply loving and longing, Walken, whose face is evil incarnate (in the few instances there is a head attached to the body), the rest of the folk in the God-forsaken village, all are a bit unreal and thus all the more convincing.
The story does not follow closely the original, so there is little sense in comparing the two. Again, as a gifted narrator, Burton adds and subtracts whenever he finds the plot deficient. Accuracy is not the goal, magic is, and he conjures up spells of beautiful landscapes. The cinematography is so good, I can't wait to get my hands on the DVD. The imagery is vibrant with color and has that slightly misty quality to give it an additional dreamlike substance. It must have been retouched, reality is plain and dull, the film looks as if the viewer is watching through color shades. Danny Elfman needs no introduction, his collaboration with Burton continues with unmitigated success.
Overall, a remarkable experience. Critics do not do this film justice when they complain about its alleged infidelity to the ``good original'' (yuick!) or the ``excessive violence'' (geez, Little Red Riding Hood, didn't the wolf eat the granny... was that gory, or did the wolf have good table manners so he did it with a fork?). I have also heard ridiculous accusations that there's ``too much music'' in the movie. This is so incredibly dumb, I have nothing to say about it. Just go and see the film -- expect to be enchanted.
10 out of 10 (just 'cause there's no 11).
December 5, 1999. BLS