From Hell

Entering into the latest cinematic take on the lore of Jack The Ripper, FROM HELL, I tried to banish thoughts of previous films or television shows. I failed, because it is hard to scrub Alfred Hitchcock's "THE LODGER" or even the mini-series starring Michael Caine completely from the mind. However, the directing team of the Hughes Brothers (known for MENACE II SOCIETY and DEAD PRESIDENTS) crafted a Victorian era film of great mood and slick style. They mix modern film tricks and camera angles with MASTERPIECE THEATER sets that are grimy, realistic and genuine to the technology of the time. The atmosphere is oppressive and downright claustrophobic at times, but the overall effect of doom is attained and maintained flawlessly. The scarlet and black skies over old London are as incredible as the detail to the mythos.

Leading the charge after serial killer Jack is Scotland Yard Inspector Fred Abberline, played here by a haggard Johnny Depp. Again, my knowledge of Ripper-lore (and the image of Michael Caine in the role) jaded me a bit, for I expected Abberline to an older man. Depp pulls off the character with some skill, however, making one really accept that the inspector on the case has a host of sizzling demons of his own to conquer. While I knew Abberline was an alcoholic, I believe the opium dreams of this film are an embellishment meant to give the viewer a terrifying trip through a troubled mind ... but it is the mind of Abberline, not Jack. Abberline is a compassionate hero, to be honest, actually caring for the lower classes of folks set on in this dark time while others seem eager to assign blame on the common folk. A great number of this film's characters wallow in the clear lines cast by class envy, or just plain class hatred. Terrific, believable performances are put on by all.

That said, there aren't many likeable characters in this film, save for Abberline's affable Scottish partner, played by the always colorful Robbie Coltrane (of CRACKER, BLACKADDER and GOLDENEYE). The bulbous actor gets the best lines and executes his role with great finesse.

Heather Graham plays Mary Kelly, the red-haired prostitute who glows on screen. She is quite attractive and a likeable person, yet her accent coach should've been British. Depp throws himself into the part with his usual twisted vigor, but his Cockney accent holds up well, as long as one doesn't concentrate on the fact that Abberline wasn't Cockney. I only point this out because when one has veteran British actors on screen, Ian Richardson (Abberline's superior and part of the Masonic world) and Ian Holm (playing the Queen's Doctor, Sir William Gull), the obvious sticks out. The two Americans are by no means as rough as Kevin Costner in his attempts at Briton-speak, but it is a minor detail that glares in a film where so much attention to detail was taken.

Example: The nineteenth Century morgue is portrayed in all of its truth—rough, dank, and bearing the effects of no refrigeration ... that is, the constant presence of buzzing flies. This overpowering sound trickles across the mind as the surgically slashed victims are examined.

The way the table is set for the complicated conspiracy through dialog expertly rendered by Holm is satisfying and more easily achieved than I would've thought.

The casual viewer will enjoy this film, if one can handle the shifting effects, violence and slight gore. The story is good and will work well for a public with a conspiracy-tainted palate. Students of the Ripper crimes (or films) may find this all very common territory, but the story certainly is original in its crux. The Ripper, long ago first envisioned as a single killer, has been progressively given more and more weight. His motivation, while once supposed to have been simple vengeance for venereal disease, now has a far more grandiose purpose. I hate to reveal all the goodies, but even Queen Victoria gets a cameo in this one. Then again, so does John Merrick, the Elephant Man, again showing the opinion of the upper class toward the lower or the unusual.

From filthy streets, crass folks, upper crust manors and Masonic rituals, this movie is certainly worth the price of a ticket. Personally, I thought seeing the primitive lobotomies was more than enough for cash.

Having read a bit of Alan Moore's graphic novel on the topic, I must say the filmmakers rendered this project in the spirit of his writing. Cold, dark, full of flawed characters and complicated motivations, FROM HELL will leave one with plenty to talk about once one exits the theater. For one will not be talking about the identity of Jack the Ripper, but the fate of Inspector Abberline. Great liberties were taken with certain facts, but it is still an enjoyable, eye-popping romp through a dark, eerie world where all is not as it seems.

Steven L. Shrewsbury wrote Image of the Ripper on The Harrow.

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