FROM HELL (2001)

DIRECTORS: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

STARRING: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham

Given my admiration of Johnny Depp and unhealthy fascination with serial killers, I figured this film would be a perfect fit for me. On paper, it appeared it would be. Unfortunately I ended up fast-forwarding through the most of the second half, just to get to the finale. That doesn’t exactly speak well for good filmmaking, now, does it?

From Hell tells the story of the events surrounding the murders of Jack the Ripper, taking place in the poverty-stricken Whitechapel district of London in the late 1800’s. Someone is out there butchering prostitutes in the most gruesome manner imaginable, and it’s up to Inspector Frederick Abberline (Depp) to solve the case. Not only is he heavily addicted to opium, but Abberline also has some clever skills to aid him in his investigation: he is clairvoyant, often receiving visions of the victims before they’re killed. As he continues to gather clues and put pieces together, he eventually seeks the assistance of Mary Kelly (Graham), a hooker who is part of the victims’ circle. Naturally, the two of them begin to develop a romance, even as it becomes clear that Mary is likely on the killer’s hit list.

I think my problem in watching this film was the fact that I was probably expecting an historical thriller — you know, factually based. That really was not the idea behind From Hell. Yes, the historical facts behind the Jack the Ripper case were certainly the foundation of the story, but not by any means essential. Even though the case itself is unsolved the filmmakers felt it necessary not to leave anything open-ended, fitting on a contrived ending and explanation to the mystery. The result was a surprisingly boring film — boring enough to fast forward through and not miss much.

As far as performances go, I’m beginning to realize that although Johnny Depp is a phenomenal actor when given the right roles, he isn’t very good at playing characters that are fairly straight. As Abberline, he sort of deadpans his way through his scene — not in a dry, humorous way, but just flat. Even his affection for Mary doesn’t have a lot of energy behind it. It almost seems that in order to make the character interesting he had to become a clairvoyant, a trait that made absolutely no significant impact on the story and, frankly, felt out of place. Heather Graham as Mary Kelly, on the other hand, didn’t do too horribly, but like Depp she didn’t really put much into her role. Most of the time I was just distracted by her horrifically-dyed red hair, the shade of which could never be natural on any human, and was therefore just one more piece that didn’t fit into the whole picture.

Needless to say I was disappointed. I didn’t expect anything fantastic but I did expect something watchable — which, honestly, this wasn’t. It just seemed lazy and poorly executed. Don’t waste your time.

FINAL GRADE: C