Edward Scissorhands (1990) movie review

Edward Scissorhands movie – This classic Tim Burton movie, heavily inspired by fantasies and gothic aesthetics, revolves around Edward, a half finished human robot living in a small American suburban neighborhood. Despite the rather dark tone of the film, the movie is full of innocence and acts of kindness. If you’ve ever felt like a misfit amongst your friends or have experienced the slightest of humiliation for being different, watch or buy Edward Scissorhands.

Director of Edward Scissorhands: Tim Burton

Cast of Edward Scissorhands: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder and Dianne Wiest

Genre: Drama, Fantasy and Romance

Awards: Saturn Award - Best Fantasy Film, BAFTA Film Award – Best Production Design

Edward Scissorhands movie trivia: The theme for this film was based on a drawing that Tim Burton had sketched when he was a kid.

Edward Scissorhands is a poignant and a truly touching story about love and innocence. Edward becomes an object of fear, fascination and curiosity in a small American suburban neighborhood. Owing to his strange and quirky appearance, Edward is shunned as an outcast and the film specifically focuses on these experiences of humiliation and fear. It is the interweaving of stark contradictions such as the frightening and the heartwarming, darkness and beauty, cruelty and kindness which make this film absolutely unique.

1. Edward Scissorhands has some of the best actors of our time

Edward Scissorhands stars some of the finest actors from the American film industry. For many of them such as Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder, it was Edward Scissorhands which brought them to the limelight. Although Johnny Depp has now become a popular household name due to the Pirates of the Caribbean series, it was Edward Scissorhands which provided him with the space and the opportunity to showcase his talent. A character like Edward demanded immense talent and Johnny Depp portrays it with a lot of ease and precision. The innocence of Edward is conveyed not through dialogues but facial expressions. Johnny Depp’s portrayal is heartwarming to the say the least, and with very few words he is able to convey a lot of emotions. The character of the old lonely inventor who wanted a son so desperately that he built Edward out of Metal devices is played by the wonderful Vincent Price. Although his role is very short in the movie, his performance with all his eccentricities and compassion is very endearing.

2. The use of contrasting yet stunning visuals in Edward Scissorhands

The visuals in Edward Scissorhands are uniquely contrasting throughout the movie, yet very breathtaking. The film is like a beautiful surreal painting, one can freeze any shot and frame a picture out of it. Like all the other Tim Burton films, the visuals are imbued with a tone of a dark fairy tale, gothic yet strangely innocent and sweet. The Old inventor’s gothic Mansion in which Edward stayed till his creator died has been presented brilliantly. Haunting, beautiful and spooky, capable of evoking memories about the Frankenstein stories that we used to read as children. In contrast to the mansion, the suburban neighborhood in which Edward is eventually taken to by Dianne Wiest’s character Peggy Boggs is painted in bright pastel colors of orange, green and yellow. This fuse of different color palettes aid in further fleshing out Edward’s experiences and emotions.

3. The refreshing love story of Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands presents an unusually sweet story of love. The romance unfolds between Edward and Peggy Bogg’s daughter, Kim, played by Winona Ryder. Moved by Edward’s innocence and honesty, Kim tries to protect him from the cruel neighborhood. Kim plays the role of a distraught yet kind girlfriend who is torn between her affection for Edward and the cold-hearted boyfriend that she has been dating. It is through her kindness and honesty that Kim expresses her love for Edward in the movie. The film narrative beautifully captures this emotion as it is not merely sympathy which shapes her kindness but it is a genuine feeling of love which forges her relationship with Edward.

4. Beautifully crafted humor

It would be a mistake to label Edward Scissorhands as a gothic story of romance alone. The film is copiously dappled with wonderful moments of humor and joy. Edward’s skill of cutting the neighborhood lawns and shrubs is shown in an adorable way. He would bring joy to his neighbors by cutting their shrubs into different animal shapes. It this skill of cutting and chopping which turns him into an awkward celebrity in the suburbia. The humor in Edward Scissorhands emerges from such quirky but delightful moments.

5. The prejudice of human nature is exposed in Edward Scissorhands

The narrative of Edward Scissorhands is underlined with a very subtle social message. It seeks to expose the prejudiced nature of human beings by revealing how feelings of fear, anger and hate always inhibit people from accepting or appreciating anything or anyone new or different. It is an unusual tale which shows how the triumph of human spirit can be experienced through acts of kindness and love.

Janet Maslin's Edward Scissorhands movie review

"Mr. Burton invests awe-inspiring ingenuity into the process of reinventing something very small"

Source: Rotten Tomatoes