REVIEW: Sleepy Hollow

It's a shame that these days I find myself almost wanting to refer to Tim Burton as a "guilty pleasure" of mine, considering his work used to be so genuinely good. Looking at his filmography from the 80's and 90's, it's clear that the man was an artist who, like George Lucas, should never have been allowed access to a computer. Because his catalog of work is so black and white (both literally and figuratively, in some cases), I really didn't know what I was going to get when I decided to watch 1999's Sleepy Hollow.

Taking place at the end of the 1700's, the film follows Constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) as he attempts to solve the mystery of a series of grisly beheadings plaguing the quiet village of Sleepy Hollow. Upon arriving and familiarizing himself with the town's influential citizens (all played by fabulous British actors and Jeffrey Jones), he is told that the culprit behind the killings is none other than the Headless Horseman (Christopher Walken), the vengeful spirit of a ruthless Hessian mercenary who was killed during the American Revolution. With more and more townspeople turning up headless, it is up to Crane and a young orphan named Masbeth (Marc Pickering) to get to the bottom of things and restore order in the Hollow.

Right off the bat, the movie looks fantastic; if there's one thing Tim Burton knows, it's visual design. Aside from a few instances of poorly-aged CGI, the film is by and large a tremendous treat to look at. Burton's use of washed-out backgrounds with contrasting elements of color make for a great Gothic aesthetic, perfectly establishing the tone and time period. It's not fantastical enough to feel like a fairy tale, yet not grounded enough to look like an account of history; it's the ideal balance for the look of an American folk tale taking place in the late Autumn. Danny Elfman's score works in perfect harmony with Burton's visuals (as always) to immerse the viewer in the story being told.

That said, it's worth noting that Burton had nothing to do with the screenplay; visuals can only go so far, and while the story is both interesting and engaging, the script tends to be a little muddled here and there. Names and titles are dumped out with such fervor that we hardly have time to match them to a face. Aside from Crane and Katrina (Christina Ricci), the entire cast is totally static and given no amount of characterization. Despite the artful visuals, this is, at its heart, a simple slasher film. Outside of the protagonist, everyone else is merely a prop for the Horseman to potentially behead while Ichabod scrambles to solve the mystery. Speaking of, I do wish that the mystery of the Horseman was kept unsolved for longer than it was; at first, no one is certain whether or not the killings are in fact supernatural in nature or not. It's established that it is possible for an average man to dress up as the Headless Horseman and chase people down, so it may or may not be a genuine haunting. However, the question is explicitly answered less than halfway through the runtime; granted, another mystery is raised in its place, but I really enjoyed the mystique that followed the Horseman legend.

The Horseman himself is a cool, if not particularly deep, villain. He's got a threatening presence about him when he hasn't got a head, though I find Christopher Walken to be an odd casting choice. He still looks like Christopher Walken, so it gets to be distracting when he shows his face. Furthermore, he doesn't do much acting aside from baring his teeth and going "AAAARRHHH"; the Headless Horseman does not have a single non-yelling line in this entire movie, which is a shame considering he's easily the most fascinating element of this entire movie.

On the other hand, Johnny Depp is by far the highlight here. While the other members of the cast all do well (particularly the cabal of town leaders played by Michael Gambon, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gough, and Jeffrey Jones), none of them hold a candle to Depp. He completely disappears into the role of Crane, coming off as inquisitive and hilariously cowardly while thrust into the role of protagonist. It's a credit to Depp's talent as an actor when one compares his role as Ichabod Crane to a character like Jack Sparrow. While his attempts at comedy all work (mainly because they're for the most part subtle), the rest of the film doesn't fare as well; there's several moments where the excellent tone is completely shattered by some odd attempt at humor. For example, there's an otherwise great scene where Ichabod witnesses the Horseman murder someone right in front of him. As the Horseman's sword connects with his victim's neck, the head spins around comically before rolling down a hill and landing mouth-first over Johnny Depp's crotch. It's kind of baffling that a scene with such a strongly-established tone would be interrupted by a bizarre attempt at comedic relief in a film that doesn't really require it at all.

Despite a few cracks in the otherwise stellar tone and a somewhat bland script, Sleepy Hollow is still an entertaining time. It's an interesting mystery showcased within a masterfully crafted Burton aesthetic; while it's not particularly deep, it's manages to be an enjoyable slasher flick with a really fun Johnny Depp performance. If you're looking for something to watch that compliments the fallen leaves on the ground outside, you could definitely do a lot worse than Sleepy Hollow.