Edward Scissorhands (1990) Film Review

fig 1. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

This is a cult film directed by Tim Burton who describes it as a personal experience of sorts. Initially, it begins by following the story of a young saleswoman name of Peg Boggs (Diane Wiest) who sells make up going door to door, attempting to shill her product. Repeated failure draws her to the mysterious Gothic mansion on top of the whole town, where she finds a person with scissor hands named Edward (Johnny Depp). Edward the boy is fascinated by human life and takes every opportunity offered to him to explore further despite his visual and physical disadvantages. Along the course of the movie he finds his place in the world through a number of humorous interactions with the other characters living in the american suburb. Burton's vision, for all its sadness, is laced with humour and humanity. Like all true fairytales it bears endless repetition.(Lee 2014)

fig 2.

While it lacks any kind of clear objective or conflict, the film plays itself well on the prospects of a concept alone. Edward pretty much obtains his objective from the very start of the movie and appears to be getting along with the locals well despite differences. The main threat reveals themselves about three quarters of the way into the movie, and would be so that the movie can simply move on. It all goes to show that entertainment value isn't contained in the situation structure a lot of screenwriting would seem to aim for, but also in an autobiographical sense. Many other successful films also use this idea to produce similar unique stories, but it must also be important that the original story has value in of itself, for example, having ethical or mysterious qualities can help generate a good amount of interest in the plot.

fig 3.

While not all the movie may be essential to the progression of the plot the delivery is still partially theatrical as if the event really does matter for the attentions of the audience. This is an important thing to point out since for much of the movie not a lot is going on, and if the script was acted out in a naturalistic style it would've been near mundane. Delivery for the public is dependent on the skills of the actors portraying the characters and the quality of the screenwriting. Professional opinions are however is a different state of expression, and depends on more on the intricate details like cinematography and diegetic music. To take this movie more as a member of the public, particularly as one of the the supposed target audience the content would be easy enough to understand, and on top of that a lot of people would have have absolutely no trouble finding empathy with the main character. As a bid to the target audience, this movie has found a niche of success with its production.

fig 4. 

In all the movie was entertaining in terms of delivery and design, but as a thought out piece I wouldn't attempt to compare it with something like a psycho thriller or a scary movie. In a professional environment the content doesn't really shine in terms of originality, it has a very Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) aesthetic to it and it doesn't really mix well when presented to the public; it is almost false advertising.  Besides that the movie is very good for kids and people looking for something easy to watch provided they realise that its not a horror movie. It does have very good visual elements that make up the films atmosphere in select scenes in what we may identify in more modern times as a 'Tim Burton' aesthetic, a definite point for those who take interest in the film as a cult favourite. His "Edward Scissorhands" is as crazily single-minded as a majestic feat of dog barbering, with much the same boldness, camp ebullience and fundamentally narrow wit. Like a great chef concocting an exquisite peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich, Mr. Burton invests awe-inspiring ingenuity into the process of reinventing something very small. (Maslin 1990)

Bibliography

Lee, Marc. "Edward Scissorhands, Review: 'A True Fairytale'". Telegraph.co.uk. N.p., 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

Maslin, Janet. "Movie Review - - Review/Film;And So Handy Around The Garden - Nytimes.Com". Nytimes.com. N.p., 1990. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

Figures

figure 1. Edward Scissorhands (1990) [poster] From: Edward Scissorhands Directed by: Tim Burton [film still] United States, Stan Winston Studio
figure 2. Edward Scissorhands (1990) From: Edward Scissorhands Directed by: Tim Burton [film still] United States, Stan Winston Studio
figure 3. Edward Scissorhands (1990) [film still] From: Edward Scissorhands Directed by: Tim Burton [film still] United States, Stan Winston Studio
figure 4. Edward Scissorhands (1990) [poster] From: Edward Scissorhands Directed by: Tim Burton [film still] United States, Stan Winston Studio