Captain Zero (From Hell)
From Hell
Directed by Albert & Allen Hughes (as The Hughes Brothers)
Screenplay by Terry Hayes & Rafael Yglesias
Based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
Alan Moore, in my opinion, is hit or miss. Even when he’s on you have to expect slow pacing to a built-up ending—which may likely fall flat. The ending of V for Vendetta wasn’t surprising, nor was The League of Extraordinary Boredom. From Hell doesn’t bring any surprises either. If you’re paying attention, you can figure out the killer long before he’s revealed. That, however, may have been a by-product of the conspiracy theory being pushed here by the directors, the Hughes brothers. Why two guys known for making gang movies ended up making a turn-of-the-century Jack the Ripper movie is about the only thing I couldn’t figure out in this whole scenario. Pass the whiskey guv’nor, we got work to do…
I’m trying not to give too much plot away, but that’s impossible as there’s just not that much to give away. Imagine, if you will, that Jack the Ripper was involved in a conspiracy with the Freemasons. A vast conspiracy that becomes uncovered in about a week (movie time) by an opium-addicted, somewhat-psychic detective and a prostitute who looks surprisingly disease-free. Yeah that’s it. We get some gory kill scenes along the way, but unfortunately, there’s also a scene where they show the killer’s hands—a dead give-away. That’s the kind of silly and sloppy work I’d expect from a couple of amateur directors, and it scores this plot adaptation a ’1.5′. I should also point out how often this movie targets the Freemasons as the bad guys without ever presenting any proof. Convenient targets = laziness.
Speaking of laziness, Heather Graham as main ‘lady of the evening’ Mary Kelly is laziness squared. She was the hot chick of the moment when From Hell was filmed so she got the nod despite a lack of truly dramatic work. Laziness number two was the performance itself. She’s unbelievable as a prostitute despite the bargain basement hair dye job. Johnny Depp as inspector Abberline is, well, Johnny Depp. He turned in his typical solid performance without going too far out on a limb. Think of a less-comic version of his inspector Ichabod Crane performance from Sleepy Hollow. Speaking of solid character actors, Robbie Coltrane plays Abberline’s sidekick Sgt. Peter Godley. If you don’t recognize the name, look him up cause you’ll recognize the face. Solid acting in a supporting role is his trademark. That brings us to the stand out performance of the movie, Ian Holm. He plays Sir William Gull, and is by far the best actor in this film. Without him there is no movie. A ‘3.5’ for acting which would have been closer to 4 if not for Graham. I can think of a ton of better actresses for that role.
Cinematography is a big plus in this movie, as they do get the feel of late 19th century London near perfect. The desperate nature of the poor Englanders is generally well portrayed, and what effects there are come across well. The gore level is appropriate—the action subtle and well placed. A ‘4’ here brings the final tally up to ‘2.25’. Plot matters, guys. However, sometimes character-driven relationships can effectively take the focus away from plot, and if you want that to happen, get people that can actually play the roles. There’s a reason this movie is largely forgotten. It’s worth a free view on a lazy weekend afternoon but that’s really it.
Review by Captain Zero