Film Review - Edward Scissorhands

The poignant yet heart warming story of Edward Scissorhands was created in 1990 by Tim Burton. It follows Peg Boggs, who discovers Edward Scissorhands in a derelict castle, where the scientist who was in the process of creating him had passed away before he could finish what he had started. As a result of this, Edward is stuck with scissors for hands. Peg takes pity on him and brings him to her home, which starts a flurry of interest and drama in the neighbourhood where she resides with her family. Eventually, after causing so much trouble, Edward decides it is best for him to go back to where he belongs: back to his castle on his own. This story is all told by an old woman to her grand daughter, who is explaining where the snow comes from: every winter, Edward makes ice sculptures up in his castle, and the snow is made whilst he works.

Fig. 1

Tim Burton's vision comes to life in an "entirely artificial world, where a haunting gothic castle crouches on a mountaintop high above a storybook suburb, a goofy sitcom neighborhood where all of the houses are shades of pastels" (Ebert, 1990). The deliberate stylization of the houses that are all different colours, but essentially the same house replicated over and over, shows Burton's views on society: how everyone is trying to be different, but in fact, people are exactly the same. This is especially true when you study how Hollywood as a society works. Films are remade and reused over and over, and are just slightly revamped to try and make it 'new' and 'exciting'. In fact, it's just the same movie, and the creators are only interested in making money. Tim Burton dares to be different, combining the typical suburbian community and architecture, with a gothic, introverted character who doesn't exactly fit in.

Fig. 2

Although he is chased out of the dull town in the end for being too different, "it's Edward who eradicates the blandness by sculpting the town's hedges into exotic topiaries of animals and people." (Travers, 1990). However, Burton shows how lethal it is to be different in a society full of people who are conforming to strict social standards. Any kind of creativity and difference is crushed and chased away, and Burton shows this clearly as poor Edward has to run from dozens of angry people for being misunderstood.

Fig. 3

Edward Scissorhands isn't only a good story, it also has "stunning cinematography, art design, costume design and production values." (Propes, no date). Burton's use of set design to show the stark contrast between Edward and the other 'normal' characters is amazing, and the music adds to the emotion in the film, encouraging the viewers to really sympathise with Edward and feel for the innocent person that has been thrust into this crazy world that has strict guidelines that Edward just can't keep to, leaving him just how he was at the beginning of the film: alone.

Bibliography

Ebert, R (1990). "Edward Scissorhands" in Roger Ebert [online]. Available at: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/edward-scissorhands-1990

Propes, R (no date). "Edward Scissorhands Review" in The Independent Critic [online]. Available at: http://theindependentcritic.com/edward_scissorhands

Travers, P (1990). "Edward Scissorhands" in Rolling Stone [online]. Available at: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/edward-scissorhands-19901214

Illustration List

Fig. 1 - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Edwardscissorhandsposter.JPG

Fig. 2 - http://anotherimg.dazedgroup.netdna-cdn.com/1050/azure/another-prod/350/0/350191.jpg

Fig. 3 - http://crypticrock.com/~crypti10/dev/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Edward-Scissorhands-21.jpg