Williams-Let There Be Hands!

I am not exactly sure where I am supposed to go with the prompt.  If we are talking about morality, Edward seems to be the only character in this movie with it. Although he manipulates the meaning of right and wrong, he does it with his heart not with mal-intent. Everyone tries to portray the perfect personality, but in reality, every one is judgmental, selfish, and cruel. It is funny that the monster has more of heart than the suburban housewives combined.  On the other hand Peg has a heart, but she is too naïve to really make a difference in how the neighborhood works. She is like a doormat. People see her, use her, then move on. It is the same with Edward. He let’s everyone take advantage of him because he lives in this fairy tale world that if he nice and does good things people will love him.

Edward Scissorshands made me feel like I was in alternative universe. The nauseating pastel houses, the overly done housewives, and the overall shallowness of town, along with Danny Elfman’s score gave me a very Dr. Seuss vibe. Edward’s punk style and pale visage contrasted perfectly with the very made up and colorful people of  the neighborhood. Whereas Edward was quiet and sweet, the neighbors were loud and rude. If it was Burton’s goal, I believe he achieved having me believe that the housewives were more terrifying than Edward’s hands.  

While I enjoyed the movie, the overall fakeness of the characters was irritating. The redeeming quality, character wise, was Johnny Depp playing Edward. While he didn’t have many lines, Depp’s ability to characterize Edward’s sweet childlike innocence was brilliant and very well done. Also the ending of the movie is somewhat unsatisfying and anticlimactic. The ending seemed to come straight out of a very cheesy fairytale, which I guess in hindsight is the point. While it was cute and heartwarming, it didn’t exactly fit the tale. After a great climax to the movie, the ending made me feel like the angry mob when the officer said that Edward was gone, disappointed and confused.

So I guess in answer to the prompt, no the town is not squeaky clean. The people in are very corrupt, and it doesn’t seem that Edward made a difference when he left the town.