From Hell
People have been fascinated with the story of Jack the Ripper for more than a century.
This new film by the Hughes Brothers doesn't give any new ideas but does capture
the flavour and feel of the time in London. Jack the Ripper killed 5 prostitutes
in various nasty ways in Victorian England.
Johnny Depp plays Detective Abelhard, a opium den user and absinthe drinker. He receives
visions of the murders and tries to solve them, at great personal risk. Along the
way, he falls in love with one of the doomed prostitutes, Mary Kelly, played by Heather Graham.
The detective is minded by the wonderful Robbie Coltrane who spouts Shakespeare and
witty asides. He feels that Abelhard is a fool for falling for an "unfortunate woman".
There are interesting ideas in this whodunnit. Was it the Prince? A surgeon? A
Mason? However, I've seen it all before.
The best thing about this movie is the visuals. It is based on a "graphic novel"...in
my youth they were called comic books, and as such the look is the most important
part. The actors are fine, the story is too, but the look wins this movie a go-see
from me!
On the Stella Starstruck scale of 5 stars, I give it ***. See it if you like Depp
or Coltrane, or the Jack the Ripper story.
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