Edward Scissorhands (1990) - Tim Burton

By Maria Sofia Bassit Gomez.

Edward Scissorhands: Heart-Project for Burton’s Piggy Bank.

Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 American fantasy romance movie directed by horror fanatic Tim Burton. The 20 million USD budget movie only made 80 million USD making it one of the least successful Tim Burton made.

Nonetheless, the movie was ranked 7,9/10 on IMDB, 74% on Metacritic and a rare 90% in Rotten Tomatoes.

The main cast consists of Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands, Winona Ryder as Kim Boggs, Dianne Wiest as Peg Boggs, Anthony Michael Hall as Jim, Alan Arkin as Bill and Kathy Baker as Joyce.

Warning: This review contains spoilers about the movie. Proceed at your own risk.

The 1h45 min movie is centered around the oddly misshapen yet soft-hearted Edward, whose master and inventor died brutally, leaving his creation unfinished. Poor Edward, scissor handed, remains hidden in the obscure chateau of his master until the soft touch of suburban saleswoman Peg Boggs open Edward to her house and the world, where Edward falls head over heels for her adolescent daughter Kim.

The movie is such a classic for cinema wizards. The overall aesthetic is like a razor blade going through your skin, giving you baby smooth skin.  The dynamic of the duo is awfully charming, considering the vast contrast between Edward and Kim. The film has a slow pace during the beginning of the movie, which then accelerates near the end. This signature mark of Burton is often irritating as it is surprising for the viewers.

A lot of the critiques of the movie are focused over the blandness of the characters. Most of them don’t have unique identity as their own, as their identity is centered around being a community against Edward, because Tim Burton was so focused on perceiving Scissorhands as the unfortunate outsider trying to fit in.

On a second note, most of the neighborhood were respectful and mindful of Edward. However, when the individuals are alone with Edward, their narrative switch is schizophrenic. For example, Joyce, the lovely lady who tried to give Edward an opportunity to have a hair salon, suddenly craves Edward’s special hands.

It’s understandable to think that Tim Burton just wanted to focus on the theme of conformity and individuality.

Nonetheless, the movie has a lot of romantic scenes between Kim and Edward which spark awe and a kaleidoscope of butterflies.

Other scenes are simply comedic or are for the entertainment of the viewer. The simple humor used doesn’t leave room for thinking nor viewers feeling left out for not understanding the satire.

The visual enchantment sells the movie as a deeply thoughtful and game-changing film. It was almost shocking to me that the movie didn’t do financially well with the visuals in hand. However, strong visuals are Tim Burton’s suit.

The paradox of the heart-warming failure:

It isn’t up to debate that the movie doesn’t have an elaborate secondary connotation besides the biased nature of Edward’s environment. The movie feels like a money cow milked for profit, with the collection of funny moments, the romantic comedy of Kim and Edward, and the dramatic ending. In a deeper perspective, the movie seems almost hollow. In my personal experience, Edward Scissorhands was one of my favorite movies mainly due the nostalgic sentimental value it gave me, and Johnny Depp’s long fingers. Yet when I re-watched the movie and tried to analyze the meaning of each element, it just felt that there is no purpose for the story. Essentially, Tim Burton directed the movie to showcase the isolation he felt around him in suburban Burbank.

The noble cause simply doesn’t do favors for the movie. It almost seems that movie is just a self-centered view of Edward and his love interest, which is a theme that producers struggle with: making the secondary characters lively and realistic. The characters seem to exclusively live off the existence of Edward in almost every conversation, and his name is mentioned as much as a Catholic family saying grace.

The movie feels like a heart project done for financial purposes, which the film couldn’t even accomplish.

Edward Scissorhands is a movie for a lazy Sunday morning when you don’t want to put much thought into what you see. The many moments of joy, love, ache, and laughter are the perfect mix for a nostalgic feeling.

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