Edward Scissorhands ***** (1990, Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest) – Classic Movie Review 102

A sadly frail Vincent Price puts in his final film appearance as an old inventor, living in a hilltop castle, who creates a creature for a son. As usual in the movies, the experiment doesn’t go quite right. The inventor dies before he can finish the lad’s hands, and the result is a flawed but special creation in Edward Scissorhands, a young man (Johnny Depp) with a warm heart, but (obviously) scissors for hands.

This proves a bit tricky for poor Edward, who lives alone, in sad isolation from the world where he’s different. But then a kindly but air-headed Avon lady called Peg (played by Dianne Wiest) befriends Edward, and it isn’t long before he falls for the charms of her cute daughter Kim (Winona Ryder). For a while, everything goes well with Peg’s suburban community warming to Edward and treating him nicely, but then things start to go wrong, as usual in the movies.

This beguiling, quirky, gorgeously romantic fairy tale, beautifully written by Caroline Thompson, is made with the most enormous care, style and satirical good humour in a labour of love from director Tim Burton. At the peak of his creativity, Burton assembles and orchestrates a most sumptuous production of rare beauty, with stupendous makeup (Ve Neill), set designs (Bo Welsh, Tom Duffield), special effects (Oscar-nominated Stan Winston), visual effects (Peter Kuran), costumes (Colleen Atwood) score (one of Danny Elfman’s best) and cinematography (Stefan Czapsky).

Depp gives a huggable, utterly believable performance as a bewildered creature in a world of peculiar ‘ordinary mortals’. It’s a feat of silent-movie acting. It’s a mostly wordless performance, for he has only 169 words in the entire movie. And the highly talented double-Oscar-winner Wiest has a happy field day as the warm-hearted mommie dearest. Ryder is effective and Alan Arkin, Kathy Baker and Conchata Ferrell are outstanding in support as Bill, Joyce and Helen.

How lovely and adorable this movie is! It just couldn’t be more romantic and sweet. A very special treat, it’s been known to make grown men cry.

It was filmed in a real Florida community, with just a fresh coat of paint, and at the Southgate Shopping Center, Lakeland. Depp shed 25lb to play the creature, which was based on a drawing Burton did as a teenager. Ryder quit Godfather III to do this film, apparently at her then boyfriend Depp’s suggestion. He had a ‘Winona forever’ tattoo on his arm, which he had altered to ‘Wino forever’ after their separation in mid-1993.

Price, who died on October 25, 1993, aged 82, was planned to have a much bigger role but his illness got in the way and confined him to just two scenes.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 102

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