Edward

Edward Scissorhands will always be my favourite film of all time for various reasons, it is impossible to articulate the infinite number of reasons for it being so; this essay serves as an attempt to do that. Scissorhands was the first collaboration between Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, a partnership that has gone on to be extremely successful and lucrative for both, after twenty years of making films together the pair have become inseparable both on screen and off, forming a lifelong friendship and eternal brotherhood. This is where it all began. Scissorhands is undoubtedly their finest work, it is possible that Ed Wood could give it a run for its money but Scissorhands finds Depp and Burton at their purest and most honest, authentic and primal. It is a film of immense emotion and it is in its purity and simplicity that it works so effectively.

Edward Scissorhands is Tim Burton’s most personal film, it will always be remembered as his seminal work and the reason for that is that it defines the man himself. Burton is a consistently misunderstood film maker and human being, known only for his eccentricities and tendency to steer towards the world of absurdity and gothic awkwardness, misfit outsiders and introspective weirdo’s. Tim Burton is an artist first and foremost and a film maker second, it is impossible to assess his films against the likes of Scorsese or Hitchcock because his films come from a different origin. Tim Burton paints with cinema; he writes poetry with the lens and creates bounds of pages of literature with each film he releases. Film is the medium in which he paints his canvas, inspired by classic horror films, gothic literature and German expressionism, Burton has somehow created his own cinematic language that is entirely unique to him. He has often been criticised for his films lacking narrative structure, or great character development or plot, this is because he is not making films in the conventional sense, he is painting, writing poetry, truly expressing himself through film. This style of film making which has come to define Burton is most present in Edward Scissorhands, his first real passion project. After being thrown into the studio system of block buster Hollywood in directing the Batman films, Burton took the time afterwards to make a personal film for himself now that he was the most sought after Director in tinsel town.

The story of Edward Scissorhands is a simple one, and it is in its simplicity that it is so effective. Everybody can relate to the feeling of isolation and inferiority felt by Edward, a man created by an inventor, but unable to finish his creation before his death, is left with scissors for hands. Unable to touch without inflicting pain on another person elevates that sentiment of increased self loathing one feels during adolescence. A retelling of the Frankenstein story, Burton seemingly effortlessly blends his own experiences growing up in 60s Suburbia with the melodrama and tragedy of gothic horror. Scissorhands is an autobiographical film for Burton, it is the director pouring out his emotions and articulating his adolescence through this titular character, the feelings of loneliness and isolation Burton felt grown up are merely heightened by Edward’s unique circumstance. These themes of feeling at odds with your environment, that you are totally alone in your melancholic existence and that you feel like you cannot connect with anyone are universal themes, felt by all at some point or another, which is what makes Scissorhands such a powerful film.

Finding an actor however to convey such heavy emotions with the simplicity that the role required was not easy, pressured by the studio to select a more bankable star like Tom Cruise, Burton insisted on finding somebody with the right sincerity and earnest humbleness that could be used to define Edward. Enter Johnny Depp. Now one of the most famous men on the planet, but in 1990 was relatively unknown to cinema audiences. Depp had been stuck on network TV show ’21 Jump Street’ for the last four years, and having been misrepresented and marketed as something totally untrue to himself related so much to the role of Edward that he was desperate to get the part. Fortunately fate was on his side and the role was his despite all the odds. It is the friendship and bond that Depp and Burton formed that make the film so special. They are two peas in a pod, similar in every way, drawn to the same quirky outsider art, and felt incredibly isolated and alone within their own selves growing up. Edward Scissorhands was as much Johnny Depp as he was Tim Burton.

Johnny Depp’s performance in Edward Scissorhands is still the best of his entire career and completely shaped the film into what it had to become. Johnny’s love and appreciation of the silent era and silent film stars influenced the character and allowed the emotions that were felt within to be expressed through little to no words. The performance is one of minimalism, body language is everything and the soul is in the eyes. Depp is fortunate to have very expressive eyes, and the entire innocence of Edward’s character, and the articulation of how he feels is played immaculately through simple eye gestures.

The entire film is flawless; it is successful because of its sincerity and its purity. So rarely are such personal projects ever green lit by the studios, and had Burton not just made half a billion dollars on Batman nor would this. Burton proved himself to be one of the singular visionaries in young upcoming Directors, and set his place in Hollywood forever. The language and imagery of what a Tim Burton film would always be, was present in Scissorhands. Indebted to its timelessly beautiful score by Danny Elfman which again defined the template by which all future Burton/Elfman scores would be measured, twinned with a stunning ensemble cast, amazing sets and production design and all round ‘Burtonesque’ tone that would define an entire subgenre of film. Edward Scissorhands was a surprise hit of Christmas 1990 and secured Burtons place in the Hollywood elite.

Edward Scissorhands will always be my favourite film for very personal reasons, put simply it is because it affected me on such a personal level at an age when articulating your own emotions is all but impossible, you are left only with films and songs to do that for you. The character of Edward was so easy for me to emphasise with for he is all of us, that feeling is not specific to Edward, it is experienced by all on various different levels. Some people have an easier time growing up and may not notice the pain and sadness as much as others, but it is there, that part of you that doesn’t feel good enough, or wonders why nobody understands you, or simply cannot understand other people, the feeling of alienation that can be so hard to define growing up is effortlessly simple in the film. Burtons stark interpretation of domestic life paralleled by his penchant for the macabre and the melodramatic, heightening everyday emotions with fairytale hyperbole, allow one to get lost in the story but at the same time find therapy and connection within its familiarity.

If you look closely at the film every character is Edward in some way. The emotions that Edward feels is mirrored by the despondency of Kim (played by Winona Ryder) a cheerleader, who cast against type to great effect, doesn’t fit into the role she supposedly fulfils and she too feels that longing and alienation.  The same dynamic is present in both Kim’s parents played by Diane Weist and Alan Arkin, who although their feelings aren’t as apparent, it is easy to see that they are not entirely fulfilled. Peg who longs for perfection both in the home and in personal beauty clings to this idea for stability, but of course stability and happiness can never be found in the material world. Peg’s mental state and gradual destabilisation is made apparent through her ever changing haircuts; with each snip she holds her world together.

Edward Scissorhands is a masterpiece, as it can be infinitely studies and interpreted, it is multifaceted and layered, the themes and emotions of the film are mirrored and paralleled through not only the characters but the environment itself. Beautifully written and directed, its heart however lies in the ever malleable Johnny Depp, not even visible under all that makeup, such a transformative role that would intern transform his life entirely. Edward Scissorhands is testament to both; ‘less is more’ and ‘write what you know’. It is so powerful and effective because of its sincerity, we feel the emotions because they are not false or artificial, it is real feeling and real art. So it remains not just a film but a beautiful poem or song, a painting etched into ones heart.