Day 147

Movie: Edward Scissorhands
Starring: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder
Genre: Fantasy, Drama
Year: 1990
Format: TV EDIT

Plot: A young man who is basically the robotic-dead, is adopted by one family in the neighbourhood, and he falls in love with the daughter. Together, they have to deal with the rest of the neighbourhood's prejudice against him.

This can be called Tim Burton's Frankenstein. One of the cornerstones in the modern gothic-pop movement; it helped to make both Burton and Depp the duo they are.

Personally, not a favourite at all.

I can appreciate the dark humour and the art of it, but I think it looses something with the casting of Ryder.  I realize that she was the "it girl" at the time, but I've always felt the placing of her in it was off. {I loved her in Heathers and Bram Stoker's Dracula and Reality Bites but just not in this film} Ryder always feels wooden to me in this role.

This film, works otherwise because of the story and the mixing of decades.  The ideas of the suburban formula of conformity which echoes in the sixties style that many of the characters have, plus the more gothic-punk style given to the lead Edward which is very 1980's; helps to show contrast between the neighbourhood and Edward. This gives the extreme feeling of not fitting in but in such a simple way it's subtle.

It, ironically, can be seen as a foreshadow of the Burton/Depp film Ed Wood. As this would end up being Vincent Price's last movie in a very eerie parallel to what happened to Bela Lugosi in Plan 9 From Outer Space.

What do I think I learned from this film?
Art imitates life, life imitates art, history repeats itself and when a story is classic it's classic for a reason.  This is truly a version of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and a combination of Beauty and the Beast.  Human nature hides some deep rooted fears, such as being unlovable or unfamiliar. The feeling and desire of needing to fit in can destroy some people no matter how innocent they are.