(MINOR SPOILERS)
There are a couple of downsides to doing movies about real people and events. The first is that it can often limit one visually; the filmmaker almost always must portray a world that is believable to the audience, which typically means no animation, no theatrical lighting/color, no surreal sets or props, etc. Secondly, some liberties have to be taken with the characters since they are based on real people, meaning that names must be changed to avoid lawsuits, or the people must be fictionalized to seem likable and interesting. There’s also the simple, obvious problem that the series of events that take place in real life are seldom as interesting as what is commonly found in fiction. Did Tim Burton’s Ed Wood successfully avoid, or at least properly handle, all of these potential dangers?
On the whole, yes, the movie manages to have very interesting visuals, characters, and story flow. Mostly. To be fair, there were a lot of times when I was a little bored by the movie because it can be kind of tedious. With a slightly faster pace, I would have enjoyed it a lot more, but I did still enjoy it. It was really the characters that got me through it, because I did enjoy the majority of the cast.
This may not be my favorite Tim Burton film that I’ve seen thus far, but it is my favorite Johnny Depp performance. Yes, he’s playing the type of character that he tends to play too often, but heck, I’ll take this over his Willy Wonka any day. Ed Wood is a very likable character and relatable character, in spite of the fact that he’s kind of an idiot. I just can’t help but admire his passion and enthusiasm for making movies the way he believes they should be made. Also, Martin Landau is fantastic as Bela Lugosi, and Bill Murray is Bill Murray at being Bill Murray all throughout the Bill Murray. Bill Murray.
There are a lot of great scenes in the film that work for a variety of different reasons. The scene in which Bela is about to commit suicide is the most Burton-ly shot scene in the film, and is thus my favorite visually. My favorite in terms of character and story, which is probably more important, is the exchange between Ed Wood and Orson Welles. That’s the scene that makes the whole movie worth watching. The scene in which Bela appears on television (with no idea how to improvise) is really a painful scene to watch, but not because it’s a bad scene. Rather, it’s because it hurts to see him struggle in such a difficult, awkward situation.
The big problem with this film is not historical inaccuracy, a cinema sin that is also present, but is actually the simple fact that this guy’s life was difficult to focus into one cohesive story that clearly moves in a particular direction. It’s always a little difficult for me to watch a movie if I get no sense that each scene is a part of getting the story to its climax, and Ed Wooddoes kind of drag for that reason. Still, I would recommend that everyone go into the movie prepared to be a little patient, and then enjoy getting to meet this delightful character called Ed Wood. Plus Bill Murray.
