fromhell

None of us were really eager to review this one, but someone requested it and I'm always up for a
challenge. When I first saw this movie in the theatres, I wasn't impressed at all. I have since viewed
the director's cut and was much more impressed. However, since the film mass marketed to the
world was less than average, I cannot in good conscience give this film more than a C+.

The story is an artistic view of the Jack the Ripper days back in London, 1888. Our hero is an
opium addicted detective who has visions when he's sleeping. (Note: Yes, this means that through
most of the film, Johnny Depp is asleep or in a drug induced coma.) There's a weird back story
about his wife dying during childbirth that doesn't really make sense or have anything to do with the
plot, other than give him and "excuse" to do all the drugs that he does. Anyway, he starts dreaming
of the gruesome murders of whores right before they happen...conveniently enough seeing the
whores' faces and the weapons used, but never the face of the killer...some psychic. Anyway,
investigating these deaths bring him to a group of "unfortunates" (a.k.a whores) who are friends
and seem to be the targets of this crazy butcher. All of them are pretty grotesque looking and beat
up, except of course for our love interest/hooker with a heart of gold, Mary, played by Heather
Graham. Heather looks clean and fairly well dressed with perfectly curled hair throughout and you
never actually see her doing her job even though we're forced to watch the rest of her gang get it
on with the scum of the earth. (I guess we can only call her a whore and see her as a love interest.
We can't actually see her with other men...kind of like Pretty Woman.)

Anyway, the film gets pretty gruesome and there's blood all over the place, but there isn't a whole
lot of suspense. I suppose that it's a price you have to pay when you base your story on history.
Everyone knows that Jack the Ripper killed whores. It wouldn't really work if you had a Jack the
Ripper story and the whores actually survived.

There are some good things about the film, like the repetition of the color green. They use the
color of absinthe all over the place as a sort of reminder of the seedy underground that was
happening at the same time. The lights are that color, the water is that color. What is most
disturbing are the dream/killing sequences that are shot like nightmares and keep that same flash
in the pan intensity. There is also a running theme of the sacrifices made in the medical community
and the horrifying tests done in underground facilities where only the upper class could go.

The idea of privilege is also called into question. Everyone does things because they think they have the right/the privilege, due to their standing in the
community or because they are in some secret society. There's also this question of whether the Ripper is suffering from the mental problems that have been
laid out, or if he's really possessed by the devil. His eyes get all dilated and black and his voice changes and you never really know for sure. It's these aspects
that make the film three-dimensional and interesting to watch.

However, there are certain things about the film that are unforgivable. For example, Heather Graham and her ridiculous cockney/sometimes Irish accent and her
"way too red to be real" hair. Then there's the lesbian whore who continually tries to get with all the other whores, which could have been used for sex appeal
with all the girl on girl kissing except that they're all groady and disgusting. Then there's the fact that the name "Jack the Ripper" is never explained. One minute
he's just a killer, then all of a sudden he has this famous moniker. Also, they go out of their way to point the finger at different people who could be the killer.
There's this whole right handed/left handed thing and a shaky hands thing that don't really play out. Not to mention a height implausibility and the question of
the carriage driver is never answered.

If you're going to watch this film, make sure you get the director's cut. The original version is confusing and not worth your time. The extended version isn't that
much longer and the extra footage is worth it to understand what is happening. All in all, this isn't one to own. Watch it once, then move along. It's not worth
going back to again.