SLEEPY HOLLOW
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Tim Burton's campily creepy SLEEPY HOLLOW has great visuals and Johnny
Depp's usual imaginative acting. A fun film, it is light-years better
than the schlock horror pictures that played this past Halloween, when
this movie should have more appropriately opened.
But first a warning is in order.
No, not about the gore. If you purchase a ticket to SLEEPY HOLLOW and
are shocked to see explicit violence in a movie about a serial
decapitator, then you have only your own naive stupidity to blame.
The warning is about the script and the miscasting of the female lead.
Kevin Yagher's underdeveloped script, based on the famous Washington
Irving story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," has some good ideas but
lacks a cohesive narrative.
Cast opposite Johnny Depp, as Constable Ichabod Crane, is Christina
Ricci, as his love interest, Katrina Van Tassel. Ricci, wearing wisps
whites and pastel blues, looks wonderful on her large white horse.
Everything is fine until she speaks. The script, which takes advantage
of none of her signature sarcasm, offers her few opportunities to shine.
The result is a bland performance in which there is no chemistry between
her and Depp. Basically, to enjoy the show the viewers are required to
ignore Ricci and focus exclusively on Depp and on the film's mesmerizing
look.
Called from New York City to investigate the macabre murders in the
remote village of Sleepy Hollow, Crane takes such a soundly scientific
approach to the crimes that he would make Sherlock Holmes proud. Using
gadgets of his own invention, he researches the crime scenes and the
bodies, which he exhumes. He completely rejects the notion of the
frightened villagers that the missing heads of the victims were "taken
by the Headless Horseman back to Hell." (With sharp triangular teeth,
Christopher Walken, in a cameo, does an hilarious, over-the-top
rendition of the Headless Horseman.)
"Murder needs no ghost come from the grave," Crane lectures the
assembled, whom he views as a bunch of impressionable country bumpkins.
Once he encounters the fiend, however, Crane retreats to the safety of
the bedcovers of his bed and whimpers like a schoolboy.
The marvel of Depp's performance is that he encourages us to laugh with
him and not at him. With shifty eyes and dramatic gestures, he lets us
in on the joke. When he cuts into a tree that splatters blood on him,
we're supposed to grimace and then laugh. "It's okay," he seems to be
saying to us, "we know you're going to find this funny. Laugh all you
want and have a good time." After all, what other reaction can there be
to a movie that has a headless guy, who can't be killed (he's already
dead, you see), riding around slicing off other people's heads.
Ah, and then there are the visuals, which are certainly worth the price
of admission. When he pulls the camera back to show the grand vistas,
Burton's picture has the grandeur of a Frederick Edwin Church painting
of upstate New York where the story is set. The gothic village itself
has a wonderfully eerie feel. Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography
features denuded color in some scenes and a strong steel-blue look in
others. As the scenes change, "wow" is the most common reaction.
It's fun, it's funny, it looks great and it's got Johnny Depp. What
else do you need to know about the movie, anyway?
SLEEPY HOLLOW runs 1:45. It is rated R for graphic horror violence and
gore, and for a scene of sexuality and would be fine for most teenagers.
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Have I seen this movie: Yes
And what did I think: Sleepy Hollow is neat, creepy film from Tim Burton who is known for his beautiful but odd looking films. Such great films include Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood and the first 2 Batmans. Sleepy Hollow is no exception here. Based on the American legend of the Headless Horseman, its set in the small town of Sleepy Hollow just before the beginning of the 19th Century. Johnny Depp teams up with Tim Burton for the third time and is very good and comical as the lead charcter Ichabod Crane. The film is somewhat of a dark comedy as well, and Depp has fun playing the chearacter. The film has a good supporting cast as well. Christina Ricci plays the love interest, Katrina Van Tassel and she looks great here with the blonde hair and beautiful dresses she wears. Casper Van Dien of Starship Troopers has a smaller part here as Brom Van Brunt, the man who is bethroed to Katrina. Rounding out the cast is horror film legend Christopher Lee, Jeffrey Jones, Michael Gough (Alfred from the Batman movies), Martin Landau, Miranda Richardson and Christopher Walken as the horseman with his head. The story here is only based on the legend and differs a lot from it. This is the movie's flaw because the story can get a bit mundane at times and drags from time to time. The character of Ichabod Crane is a lot different, here he is a constable in New York City and is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the murders. While there, he discovers the secrets of the small town and falls in love with Katrina. The atmosphere of the town is very eerie and done in true Tim Burton style. As you would expect, there are lots of decapitations here, but they are not that grisley looking. I think this will make a good Halloween movie for years to come, but the script could have been reworked some to make it even better.
I give Sleepy Hollow 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review written May 25, 2000
