New projects have not been met with the same excitement in Tim Burton’s career in recent years. Perhaps he’s fallen off because once a filmmaker has reached master status, it becomes more challenging to maintain consistency. Burton is a true master of portraying the whimsical in film, and we’re here to celebrate his genius with Edward Scissorhands.
It will be tough not to sound like I’m gushing about this retro because, along with Batman Returns, this is my favorite Burton film.
Growing up in a small town, the mentality that your business is everyone’s business resonates with me, and the realness of it frustrates me to the point of truly understanding Peg’s (Dianne Wiest) struggles when trying to introduce an “outsider” to the town. That’s what Edward is in this film: an outsider who is expected to conform to how things are done, and when he doesn’t, he’s vilified and chased away.
It’s a unique situation when you aren’t born in a small town but move to one. Introducing something different from something that’s always been a certain way is seen as a threat in small towns. I’ve seen it firsthand, and Burton spectacularly translated this into a film.
The cast was perfectly constructed. Dianne Wiest embodied the caring mother role flawlessly. Winona Ryder, who already had rapport with Burton in Beetlejuice, did a fantastic job playing Kim and juggling the emotional need for reliance on a friend with the fear of ruining her relationship with her incredibly jealous and unlikeable boyfriend (Anthony Michael Hall).
Johnny Depp, as Edward, is a meek, shy animal slowly coming out of his cave to experience the world he’s never known. We’re excited by everything that interests him and afraid of everything that scares him. We even got the perfect cherry on top with Vincent Price’s last in-person feature role as The Inventor, Edward’s creator and father figure. The story between the Inventor and Edward brings heartbreak and sadness to the film, which already covers all the other parts of the emotional spectrum.
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Burton’s character, costume, and set designs were all incredible. His flashiness doesn’t scream “big-budget blockbuster” but a tasteful gothic spectacle that has the audience searching every inch of the screen to absorb more.
The score for this film is my favorite Danny Elfman score and, in my opinion, his strongest. Elfman is known for his main themes. You can probably hum the Batman or Beetlejuice themes right this second. Edward Scissorhands feels so different from those scores because the pieces change dramatically as the film’s emotional direction changes. If you’ve never listened to “Ice Dance” from this score, do yourself a favor. It’s perfect for this time of year.
It initially scared me as a kid, but as the film went on, I felt bad for Edward and didn’t want him to leave town. As a teenager, I related with Edward, and I was infuriated with what he was going through and the mob mentality of a small town. As an adult, I can remember both of those stages and then appreciate how intentional that was in the storytelling while admiring what a gorgeous piece of art the film is. There are only a handful of films that have done that in my life.
After 30 years, I can safely say that Edward Scissorhands is a film masterpiece, and Tim Burton is a film master.
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