Edward Scissorhands Analysis

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Register to read the introduction… Edward is found living alone in the attic of a Gothic castle, a setting that is also used for main characters in Burton's Batman and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Edward Scissorhands climaxes much like James Whale's Frankenstein and Burton's own Frankenweenie. A mob confronts the "evil creature", in this case, Edward, at his castle. With Edward unable to consummate his love for Kim because of his appearance, the film can also be seen as being influenced by Beauty and the Beast. Edward Scissorhands is a fairy tale book-ended by a prologue and an epilogue featuring Kim Boggs as an old woman telling her granddaughter the story, augmenting the German Expressionism and Gothic fiction …show more content…
Peg Boggs (Dianne Wiest) is a down-on-her-luck Avon representative shopping around her small, sunny neighbourhood for prospective clients. When skewered resources force her to pay a visit to the local haunted house, she meets Edward (Johnny Depp), a recluse living in the attic who shyly appears in a zany 80s punk bouffant and leather getup, with scissors for hands. When the matronly Peg adopts Edward and brings him home for dinner, the whole family must deal with the razor-sharp consequences of Edward's scissor hands; most notably Kim (Winona Ryder), the doe-eyed daughter who becomes Edward's object of affection. At first, the townies welcome Edward with patronizing curiosity, but, after he rejects the advances of the neighbourhood hussy, the town shows its true colours. Edward proceeds to get caught at the wrong place at the wrong time and is pursued by the police. Cornered, he is forced to make a choice between staying with the girl of his dreams or returning to his dark palace …show more content…
The film, lovingly directed by Tim Burton, is a darkly sweet (self) portrait of adolescent angst. We can all relate on some level to Edward's social awkwardness, and Depp's deer-in-headlights self-consciousness is adoring enough to soften the sharpest of pointed appendages. The pastel-colored township cuts a drastic figure against Edward's looming mansion in the distance. Like the best of David Lynch, the film exposes the cynical underbelly of front porch Americana, forcing us to find beauty and truth in the grotesque when we allow what is "good" to run more than

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