A door-to-door cosmetics sales lady named Peg (Dianne Wiest), having bad luck with her sales, decides to pay a visit to the dark gothic mansion on a hilltop overlooking her suburban neighborhood. She finds the place dusty and abandoned, except for a single person - a pale scarred man wearing a leather outfit. Worst of all, Peg discovers he has multiple scissors in place of his hands. The gentle, quiet man calls himself Edward (Johnny Depp). Peg brings Edward out of isolation and introduces him to society. But the strange new man has a hard time adjusting and soon finds himself at odds with the world.
This is a beautifully tragic film. I've always loved this film ever since it came out. It's so good at tugging at the heartstrings and making you feel for Edward's plight. He's spent who knows how long in isolation, and figuring out how society works is not an easy task, especially when you have foot-long razor-sharp scissors for hands. Learning about a variety of emotions, as well as being subjected to a variety of them from others, has to be confusing and terrifying. And when Edward can't cope with the emotions, his reactions scare others and cause him and those he loves pain and sorrow.
The hauntingly beautiful music by Danny Elfman really helps to set the mood for this piece. Re-watching it today, I realized how very similar the music is between this film and The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). It's almost like Danny Elfman recycled bits and pieces of it from this film. This is one of those films that wouldn't be the same with any other music.
It's also interesting to see the Tim Burton-ish setting in the gothic mansion. He has a distinct style that stands out today, but in this film, it's a little more subtle. Like the very beginnings of his style coming out; rough around the edges but vaguely familiar.
It should also be noted that this was one of Vincent Price's last film roles. He was very famous for playing villains or spooky characters throughout his life, so it was nice seeing him play a sweet loving father figure in a Tim Burton film. And also very sad to see when his character "didn't wake up," as if foreshadowing his actual passing so soon after. I'm sure if he lived long after this film, he probably would've become a staple of Tim Burton movies, like Johnny Depp did.
This film is more drama than horror, but the tragedy that is Edward's life is dark enough that I'm willing to give it the Halloween pass. Besides, his pale, scarred, leather-bound appearance with long scissors for hands would be enough to send any sane person outside of a Tim Burton film running and screaming.
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