Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Written by CinemaSerf on August 26, 2023

Vincent Price has spent his life working on a labour of love - a "son", an artificially constructed person that lacks only hands - for which he temporarily has two pairs of scissors. Sadly, the creator dies before he can rectify this and so young "Edward" (Johnny Depp) is left alone in his lofty castle. Alone, that is until a kindly Dianne Wiest ("Peg") takes him under her wing, introduces him to her many friends - including an on-form Winona Ryder ("Kim") - and they all discover he has a remarkable ability for topiary (and hairdressing!). Soon he is all the rage, the talk of the town - but always the misfit, and of course when a mishap - in this case a robbery for which he is framed - occurs, his fickle friends turn on him readily. It's a touching tale of innocence and humanity; Depp plays his role skilfully and with delicacy and humour, and the last half hour is quite a damning indictment of thoughtlessness and selfishness that still resonates today. Like many "fairy" tales, it has it's root in decent morals and Tim Burton is ahead of the game in delivering a nuanced and enjoyable modern day parable that makes you laugh, smile and wince with shame in equal measure.