As I cant spare the time I'd like, I'm taking an extended leave of absence from CIAO. Hope to return...
As I cant spare the time I'd like, I'm taking an extended leave of absence from CIAO. Hope to return some day. All the best.
Member since:26.09.2000
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Jack the Ripper was not a nice man. History tells us that during a brief reign of terror on 1888, he murdered and butchered 5 prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of London. Terrible crimes I’m sure you’ll agree, however his final and perhaps greatest crime (not to belittle the terrible fates of those poor women) was not to get caught or leave any understanding of his motives, thus giving birth to whole industry, theorising on his identity and his motives. An anonymous mad man with sharp knife? Nah doesn’t sell any books. Make it the gay lover of the President of the United States and we could be on to something! (NB – that is not the plot of this movie!)
And so it was that the Hughes Brothers, Albert and Allan came to make a movie of the Jack the Ripper story, based on the graphic novel by Allan Moore and Eddie Campbell, which comes with another not entirely original hypothesis although with a few interesting embellishments.
The scariest shadow cast over the events in the movie is not that of the Jack but is that of Oliver…Olive Stone. “From Hell” is the Ripper story retold as conspiracy theory. Various theories over the years have fingered everyone in the upper echelons of Victorian
society, all the way to the top but here the theory is woven into a web of intrigue, duplicity and deceit that would have Mr Stone wetting his pants. All that was missing was the grassy knoll.
Here’s the plot…
It’s London , it’s Whitechapel, it’s 1888, it’s NOT Crackerjack. Far from it. Whitechapel is a Victorian Sodom and Gomorrah; the streets team with filth, drunks, villains, prostitutes and all manner of darkness and debauchery. We visit upon a group of six prostitutes, including Mary Kelly (Heather Graham), who have formed themselves into a loose collective in an effort to protect themselves from a local small time crook who is running a prostitute protection racket. Amongst the general squalor and unpleasantness of their lives, there is a glimmer of hope for one of them, who has taken up with a kindly refined gentleman to the extent of marriage and the production of a bouncy baby. However one day the girl and the baby are forcibly taken from their lodgings and before you can say Jack the Ripper, the remaining friends start turning up dead and horribly mutilated.
On the scene of the crime comes Inspector Abberline (Johnny Depp), an opium addicted policeman who claims to have visions of the murders but who also does a nice line in Absinthe and poison cocktails (for his own consumption). As Abberline investigates, the bodies continue to turn up with more horrific mutilations, however in the midst of all the gore and intrigue he finds that he is developing feelings for Mary Kelly.
Can Abberline crack the case and save his girl or is Mary destined to end up looking like a butchers slab?
Well Mary Kelly is involved in a brutal mauling early on in the movie; that of the English language. Heather Graham, who plays Mary, may be fine as a rolling skating porn star but here she fails to produce the money shot. Mary is supposed to be from the South Coast of Eire but Heather Graham’s accent is better travelled than Michael Palin, Around the World in 80 Days? She manages it in 120 minutes. It starts as a vague East London accent, hints at Irish, before going into an Australian/New Zealand hybrid, at one point slipping into a perfect Nicole Kidman. And so it continues, with a bit of an American twang thrown in for good measure. However by this point I was finding myself being extremely distracted by hair, a beautiful burnt chestnut colour, but a colour that is only available from Clairol. And she was just too good looking to be convincing as a some one who lived that life. A terrible terrible piece of mis-casting.
Johnny Depp fairs a little better. It’s one of those flawed and fractured characters that he loves to play and as always he does a great job of conveying the complexes of this damaged but ultimately honourable man. However again he looks too darn pretty and physically unblemished to be the man that he is playing, I’m thinking some one like Sean Bean might have been more appropriate. His accent also seemed terribly out of place. He goes for a David Bowie/Gary Oldman hybrid which he pulls off perfectly but again just didn’t seem right for the part.
Robbie Coltrane, as Abberline’s side-kick Sergeant Godley, does his usual convivial Scotsman routine.
Other parts are taken by Ian Holms. Sir William Gull the Surgeon Royal and Ian Richardson as Police Inspector Sir Charles Warren.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this piece, the heart of this movie is the conspiracy theory. On the surface the theory is quite well realised and perhaps slightly plausible, however under closer scrutiny it turns out to be utterly ridiculous. As for trying create any tension with the who-dunnit/thriller story, that also fails. It is pretty obvious who the two main suspects are from very early on, and it’s pretty easy to guess the identity of Jack before the movie is even half-way through.
The only thing that lifted the movie out of the ordinary for me was the some excellent cinematography, which helped to create an oppressive, ominous atmosphere and the superb recreation of the squalid streets of London’s East End, built on a sound stage in Prague. Together they help to bring to life a vision that lends a double meaning to the films title.
Unfortunately these very occasional flashes of excellence can’t save a rather flat, un-thrilling, slightly silly movie which drags on for too long.
Movie has an “18” certificate. Blood and gore and guts and violence. Strong language including the “C” word. Scenes of a sexual nature. Nudity.
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Aw! quite fancied this film before reading your op...LOL
Well written by the way, I like the sly way you seem to hide the swear words, Thanx for putting me off. :-)
DEANO!
Wayne10ch 15.02.2002 23:51
I said this before and I will say it again. Jack was never caught because he was mugged and murdered himself. This happened often around that time. He would have been stripped of his possessions, hence not being caught with anything incriminating and ended up just being another statistic of a troubled time! How's that for a theory? Nice op Wayne
LostWitness 15.02.2002 23:48
Oh. I was quite looking forward to this - perhaps I won't bother now! :O)
Heavy on atmosphere and light on everything else,From Hellis visually impressive while ... more
lacking the depth of the acclaimed graphic novel it's based upon. Making their third feature since 1993'sMenace II Society, twins Allen and Albert Hughes approach th...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Heavy on atmosphere and light on everything else,From Hellis visually impressive while ... more
lacking the depth of the acclaimed graphic novel it's based upon. Making their third feature since 1993'sMenace II Society, twins Allen and Albert Hughes approach th...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
A Gripping and Stylish Thriller. -Lou Lumenick New York Post While Jack the Ripper ruled ... more
the streets of London terror reigned. His crimes were unspeakable. His blood lust unquenchable. His identity unknown... until now! Johnny Depp and Heather Gra...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
In 1888 London, the unfortunate poor live horrifying lives in the city's slums. Harassed ... more
by gangs and forced to walk the streets for a living, Mary Kelly (Graham) and her small group of companions are terrorized when their friend is kidnapped and anoth...
![From Hell (2 Disc Special Edition) [2002] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78545544.jpg "From Hell (2 Disc Special Edition) [2002] [DVD]")
Feb 15th, 2002
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