2001 / 121 Minutes / R
Reviewed by Jason Jones

It is a very rare feat for a visually enticing film to have the substance to match its style. Oftentimes, a stylish film will falter along the way and end up as a David Lynch film. In other cases you get Ridley Scott films, which are quite stylish, but still have a fairly solid plot before going astray somewhere before the end credits roll. Then there are those rare instances where we are allowed to indulge in films that have the substance to match the style. This is the realm of masters such as De Palma, Leone, Kubrick, and Lean to name a few. When we watch movies such as these we are beside ourselves with joy, because we are being treated to the very essence of cinema at its finest. This is the sort of territory that “From Hell” chooses to make its mark.

“From Hell” is the fictionalized account of the events surrounding the case of Jack the Ripper in 1888 London. In fact, its a sort of “what if” proposal in the same vein as Oliver Stone’s mesmerizing take on the assassination of President Kennedy in “JFK”. In the hands of the Hughes brothers, “From Hell” is able to carve out its own niche in the world of the conspiracy thriller.

We see the world of 1888 London through the eyes of clairvoyant police detective Inspector Abberline (Johnny Depp). He is semi-famous for his “visions” which have led to the solution of many cases he has been involved in. These visions come to him by way of his indulgence in opium and absinthe. The way the Hughes brothers convey these visions/hallucinations to the audience through a haze of green mist, as if we are soaked in absinthe ourselves, is quite effective. This is important because the Inspector’s visions are a precursor of things to come and help to provide a great deal of the tension that the audience must deal with throughout the duration of the film.

Abberline’s investigation begins after the grisly death of a prostitute is brought to his attention. Shortly thereafter another prostitute is killed in a similarly grotesque manner. It soon becomes evident that someone is targeting a particular group of prostitutes who all, it turns out, happen to be friends. He notes the fact that the killer has to be an eduacted man due to his knowledge of anatomy. So he enlists the aid of an area medical professor (Ian Holm) whose knowledge, Abberline Hopes, will be of use to his investigation.

Holm is really a delight to behold in this film. I have enjoyed his work in the past in films such as “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Fifth Element” although I don’t think I have ever seen him as good as he is here. The moment Abberline enlists his aid is when the film really sucks the viewer in as the detective work truly begins. I really enjoyed his first scene with Depp when he is racking his brain to try to unravel clues as to the possibility identity of Jack the Ripper. This is some great stuff that I didn’t really want to see end.

“From Hell” even manages to provide something for the ladies as an unlikely romance develops between the prostitute Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) and Abberline. I must admit that I had my reservations about this plot point, but the Hughes brothers are wise enough not to dwell on it and allow to remain in the background for the audience to chew on if they choose to do so. It works for this reason and it is fairly believable due to the arduous circumstances under which they have met. Quite likely they are drawn together by their need to feel something other than fear moreso than an actual attraction developing between them.

Graham gives a fairly solid performance opposite Depp who delivers his usual memorable performance, although he is thankfully more restrained than he was in films such as “Sleepy Hollow”. I thought Graham had difficulty displaying emotion on a number of occasions throughout the film. Perhaps, this could be attributed to her character’s profession which requires a certain emotional detachment in order to survive. Despite that though it seems that her level of fear rarely wavers throughout the film. Even as the bodies of her friends pile up and she realizes that she is marked for death, she never seems to become anymore afraid than she was early in the film. I’d think that as it becomes more and more apparent that she could be next on the chopping block, her level of fear would inevitably rise, but I could be wrong.

One thing is for certain. The direction of the Hughes brothers is nothing short of intoxicating. They employ a number of camera tricks that always keep the film fresh and inviting. From the tracking shot at the beginning of the film that takes us on a stroll through the sinister streets of London we are immediately informed that we are not watching a run of the mill slasher flick. No, this is something much more. I really loved the scene when the second murder victim is found, because it employs a time elapse shot that brings back memories of the scene in “Requiem For a Dream” when Ellen Burstyn is frantically cleaning her apartment at high speed. It is effective, because it shows us the same crime as we saw earlier but in a very different manner, thus constantly keeping the experience fresh and exciting to the viewer.

The Hughes brothers must also be commended for their exercising of considerable restraint with regard to the amount of gore that is shown on screen. In a movie about Jack the Ripper, one would expect to see a nearly intolerable amount of gore, but that is not the case here. They are smart enough to use character reactions to impart the horror that has taken place to the audience. We see doctors gag at the sight of the bodies of the victims. Even hardened detecives can barely stand to look more than once. Only when it is necessary do we ever see any of the violence that has taken place. “From Hell” is one of those movies that makes you think you saw much more than you really did. You may have thought you saw a woman being hacked to bits, but all you really saw was the gleam of a blade being stained with blood as it was thrust into its victim off screen.

About my only gripe with the film is that once the identity of the Ripper is revealed to us the film seems to lose its edge. To me it wasn’t quite as interesting as it was when I still wasn’t 100% positive of the killer’s identity. To be honest though this isn’t much of a flaw when one considers how engrossing the rest of the film is. I say engrossing because once you, along with Abberline, begin to realize the motivation behind the killings you won’t want to divert your eyes from the screen. Not for one second.

“From Hell” is an incredibly satisfying thriller that mixes style and substance in a way that is rarely seen in this day and age of mindless slasher flicks and the incredibly overdone “twist” ending. “From Hell” is a film that respects your intelligence so much that it actually enables you to figure it out before its over if you choose to pay close enough attention. That is something truly rare indeed, in this time of loosely connected plots and hokey gimmickry. For these reasons, and many more, you owe it to yourself to make “From Hell” your destination of choice the next time you make the trip to the video store.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 14th, 2002 at 5:48 pm and is filed under Jason's Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.