From Hell (2001)
Copyright Doomster 2003
Rating (1 to 10) : 5
Summary: The Hughes brothers put their formulaic spin on the Jack the Ripper mystery.
The screenwriters for this movie created a story that is interesting just based solely on the fact that it concerns Jack the Ripper, a serial killer who still fascinates audiences today even after 120 years have passed since he committed his notorious crimes. The movie is not historically accurate; the directors and screenwriters took some liberty with their creative license to put their spin on telling their version of the mystery.
The main character, Inspector Fred Abberline (Johnny Depp, Donnie Brasco in “Donnie Brasco”), is detective of Scotland Yard with psychic abilities, able to “see” a crime as it happens thru his opium-induced dreams. His trusted sidekick is Mr. Godley (Robbie Coltrane, Zukovsky in “Goldeneye”), whose main purpose, it seems, is to counsel Abberline against rash decisions and to retrieve Abberline from opium dens when he succumbs to his addiction.
Abberline starts investigating after the first victim, Martha Tabram, is found, throat slashed. He seems to be just a step behind Jack the Ripper, just missing him as Jack leaves the crime of the scene, and finding the corpse of the victim still warm. Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) is the supposed heroine in the movie, a prostitute trying to survive on the rough streets of East End London. She is portrayed in a historically inaccurate light, as a young woman of a good heart, when in real life, Mary Kelly was not attractive at all and was of questionable moral stature.
The story is interesting solely on its take of who Jack the Ripper really was and why the women prostitutes were killed. However, there are some aspects of the movie that just are superfluous. Abberline’s psychic abilities seem to make him unique, yet it is hardly utilized in the movie. The extent of his psychic abilities seem to be to have dreams and visions that display Jack the Ripper in a blurred view, preventing Abberline from using them to unmask him. Later, you begin to wonder why the scriptwriters even had this facet in the movie as Abberline’s special ability is de-emphasized as the movie progresses.
The only real draw of this movie seems to be its subject – Jack the Ripper - and its version on the who and the why of Jack the Ripper; the movie does have an interesting theory on this. But that’s the extent of the attraction of this movie. Neither Johnny Depp nor Heather Grahams’ acting overcomes the lackluster script. A movie that is lacking, not one that Depp would brag about being associated with anytime soon.
Why you should or should not see this movie:
You might want to see this movie to get a different perspective of the Jack the Ripper mystery. Otherwise, it’s an average film with a confusing plot.
Memorable quotes
Copyright Doomster 2003