Sleepy Hollow

Back in 1820, Washington Irving wrote 'The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow', a short story about a schoolmaster named Ichabod Crane who is pursued by a mysterious Headless Horseman, the stories antagonist. Since then, a multitude of adaptions have come to fruition, and the 1999 film adaptation Sleepy Hollow is the one I'm going to look at today.

Directed by Tim Burton and starring, predictably, Johnny Depp, alongside Christina Ricci, Christopher Walken, and Michael Gambon. It tells the story of Crane (Depp) a Police Constable who is dispatched to Sleepy Hollow, a small town in upstate New York, to investigate a series of brutal decapitations. Here he tries to unravel the mystery that has been plaguing the town. The result is a visually impressive, well-paced and engaging movie steeped in atmosphere and beautiful Butronesque dark and Gothic tones.

New York Police Constable Ichabod Crane, a firm believer and pioneer of forensics and empirical practises, is sent by his superiors to investigate a series of murders in the quiet town of Sleep Hollow. When he arrives, he meets the town leader Baltus Van Tassel (Gambon) and his daughter Katrina (Ricci). The town elders inform Crane of who they believe is responsible for the deaths. They tell him it is a Headless Horseman (Walken), the resurrected body of a Hessian Mercenary, notable for his ferocious appearance and extreme blood-lust. After meeting his demise, he was buried in the towns Western Woods, has subsequently returned from Hell, and is currently reeking havoc on the area.

Crane, being a man of science and not of superstition, is initially reluctant to believe these stories, until he himself encounters the Horseman. Whilst he is shaken by the incident, he makes an important discovery: The Horseman does not kill indiscriminately, and is being controlled by the person who removed the skull from his grave.

As the film continues, we find that the Horseman is merely a pawn in a complicated conspiracy that harks back to the time when the Horseman was alive, and when one of our main characters was robbed of everything she had, and swore revenge on those who destroyed her life.

Rough Morning?

While I am not a big Tim Burton fan, I really enjoy this film, and regard it as one of his best. One of it's greatest aspects is the beautiful set designs. Rarely have I seen a historic flick where the locations and visuals are so rich and authentic. Every scene is encased in a tenebrous air, and the town of Sleepy Hollow is frequently blanketed by a layer of thick, pernicious mist. Dark tones are one of Burton's established trademarks, but they are pulled off so well here you stop caring that Burton has done pretty much the same thing in pretty much every one of his films.

Other than that, the story is very interesting, me being a sucker for grim historic epics. The actors hold up well, and the bond between Ichabod and Kristina is pretty likeable. The scenes of Horseman killing his victims are pretty intense, as are the sword fights and the movies fantastic climax.

After doing a little research, I was alarmed to discover that the film differs so vastly from Irving's story. I can't list the diversions her as I would end up giving away some major plot points. Let's just say it stuck to the original story as well as Uwe Boll's 'Alone In the Dark'.

With that aside, the movie is well directed, well acted, has an interesting plot and looks absolutely gorgeous. If you're a Burton fan, you'll adore it. If not, you'll still have a good time.