Tim Burton has directed some of my favorite films, including Ed Wood and Big Fish. Even if a project he’s worked on doesn’t quite work, like Mars Attacks! or Batman, the resulting film still is interesting to look at from a cinematic point-of-view and always full of his unique stylistic touches. Sleepy Hollow, a re-telling of the classic Washington Irving story, not only includes Burton’s characteristic style but a lot of the charm as well.
Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp), a constable from New York City, is aggravated with the state of criminology in the post-Revolutionary War era. While he’s working on scientific methods of crime detection, his peers still use primitive torture devices and outmoded beliefs to solve crimes. While confronting the court’s lack of recognition for his ideas, he is given the opportunity to put his scientific knowledge to the test in Sleepy Hollow, a farming community that’s been the target of a murderer with a penchant for removing the heads of his victims.
Sleepy Hollow, New York is full of superstitions and tales of a headless horseman who prowls the countryside looking for his head. Crane’s arrival in the town signals relief for some of the townsfolk, but the elite of the community look upon him with disdain. When they try to explain the recent murders as the work of the headless horseman, Crane laughs the story off as a tale of “ghouls and goblins.” After meeting more of the townspeople, including Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), daughter of the town’s mayor, and a young boy whose father was murdered (Mark Pickering), Crane begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It’s not quite what he was expecting to find.
Johnny Depp and Tim Burton seem to have a chemistry that brings out each other’s best work. Depp is excellent as the eccentric Crane, who straddles a fine line between the serious and comic. His sense of timing while delivering dialogue is impeccable and the most effective in a great cast. Christina Ricci’s Katrina is very alluring, if strangely so. The fine collection of actors that makes up the core of the town’s elite (Ian McDiarmid, Jeffery Jones, Michael Gough, Richard Griffiths and Michael Gambon) is also worth noting. Even with these fine performances, it is Burton’s direction that makes this film worth seeing. His combination of the real and the other-worldly, along with an over-the-top performance by Christopher Walken, give the film just the right dose of supernatural power to make it work.
Alas, the film is not perfect. Some plot points are a bit confusing and the viewer may be lost at times during the film’s pre-climax wrap-up, but things do eventually come together as a cohesive whole. This is really the only problem with the movie. The script, which is almost completely different from the original Washington Irving story, is a fine gothic mystery.
Overall, Sleepy Hollow works due to the lush visuals, outstanding special effects, a great cast and fantastic direction. If you’re looking for a movie that delivers a good time, Sleepy Hollow is well-worth the money.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Buy on Amazon!
