Sleepy Hollow Review

In New York 200 years ago, police constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp), a firm believer in rationalism and haunted by memories of the bloody death of his mother, (Lisa Marie), who was condemned for witchcraft, is sent to the village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of beheadings. The locals, an in-bred group of Dutch origin led by Baltus Van Tassel, (Michael Gambon), are convinced the killings are the work of a ghost, a headless horseman. Tim Burton`s new film is visually mind-boggling - with its bleached look and wonderful settings, it evokes a strange and distant past - and the special effects, including the numerous, bloody, decapitations, and the monstrous tree of the dead, are spectacularly handled. Based on the story by Washington Irving, the plot is a bit repetitive and the film a fraction long - but Burton`s masterly handling of very strange material is wonderfully evocative. He cheerfuly acknowledges the great work done at Hammer and other British studios in the past by casting veterans Christopher Lee and Michael Gough in small roles. Christopher Walken is a wonderfully scary horseman, Michael Gambon is almost fey as the village elder, while Christina Ricci, as his comely daughter, has her most glamorous role to date. As Ichabod, prone to fainting spells and frightened of spiders, Johnny Depp is great fun. Sleepy Hollow is eerie and bloody and utterly fascinating.Margaret`s comments: Tim Burton`s cinematic gaze is predictably dark in this grim little fairy story. I don`t think it`s any accident that he was attracted to this Washington Irving story about a headless horseman who decapitates his victims. We get the whole catastrophe in close-up. But his vision is consistent and mesmerising. My only previous version of this story had been Disney`s animated one. Tim Burton drags you into a world where the rational man is overwhelmed by irrationality. Not a fairy story for tiny tots, but with some wonderfully exhilarating and occasionally funny moments. Not to mention some questionably bloody ones.