A Johnny Depp it has always been difficult to decipher him -in more than one aspect-. The following of him is fervent, even though she has been able to spend more than a decade pulling from minimal efforts and punctual sparks. His career has had many ups and downs.which have relied heavily on an at times questionable choice of projects and filmmakers who really know what to do with it.
No doubt who has the best draft and has given him the most stage to shine es Tim Burton, with whom he has shared many projects -these also with their ups and downs-. There will be those who have different preferences between their joint collaborations, with a tendency above all towards ‘Eduardo Scissorhands’ or ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’.
However, there are two that should be the favorites. One is ‘Ed Wood’, perhaps Burton’s best film. The other, one that comes very close: ‘Sleepy Hollow’, available and HBO Max.
Heading towards perdition
The film, a new adaptation of the short story by Washington Irving which was adapted into an animated format by Disney, offers us a character at an interesting midpoint between the hero-visitor who goes to a town full of mystery and a eccentric protagonist who fits Depp’s charisma.
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This Ichabod Crane will go to the remote American town to bring his “modern” investigative techniques to solve the mysterious murders attributed to a headless horseman.
Burton picked up the project after they couldn’t agree to make it a low-budget slasher. Injecting more resources and money to make it a mid-budget film, the director seeks and get a unique atmosphere and tone that convey the feeling of a Hammer horror film taken in a big way.
His production design, his use of special effects and his direction of actors clearly point in that direction. The filmmaker pulls several of his commonplaces, which were still fresh and funny enough instead of repeated rehashes.
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His particular sense of comedy lends a fervent energy to a tale of undeniable supernatural and sinister charm. Somehow, it achieves creepy fun while still being elegant, which could be counterintuitive but works like a charm here.
‘Sleepy Hollow’: charming and sinister
Part of the success is probably due to a dedicated and fascinating Johnny Depp, which was a casting choice that Burton had to fight for. He was clearly right, since both manage to amplify the best attributes of the other more than ever, making it easy to talk about ‘Sleepy Hollow’ as one of their best collaborations. A delicious movie that never loses its magic.
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