Route “9″ to Sleepy Hollow
It is not hard to feel like an outsider. I think we have all felt like that at one time or another.- Alan Cumming
An outsider’s point of view is always handy.-Pat Oliphant
Strip away the Gothic universe, the dark undercurrents, the twisted up characters, the nightmarish visions, at the core of it, Burton celebrates the outsider. Something to do with Burton’s own lonely childhood, where he often lived in his own world, his unhappy days at school, which he escaped by immersing himself in the world of B Horror and Sci fi movies. But yet for all the ostensibly dark, Gothic tones of Burton’s movies, at the end of the day, they are essentially fantasies, fairy tales. Fairy tales with a difference, Burton’s hero is not the Prince Charming who comes in and sweeps the Beauty off her feet. He is rather the beast with a humane heart ( Edward Scissorhands) . He is not the noble gallant chivalrous Knight, he is rather a Dark Knight living in the shadows, as ruthless as the enemies he fights against.
The Headless Horseman vs Ichabod Crane
Washington Irving’s short tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was in effect about a superstitious, school teacher Ichabod Crane, and the Headless Horseman. Burton takes the original character, and for the movie makes him a New York cop, who is called in to investigate the mysterious murders in the village of Sleepy Hollow. An urban, educated cop in a remote sleepy village, ah, again the quintessential outsider. But then Ichabod Crane( Johnny Depp) is not just an outsider in the village, he is an outsider in his own police deparment in New York, at the turn of the 18th century. Something which Burton again establishes in the beginning, where Crane has a show down with his superior. Crane believes in using scientific methods of investigation, unlike his boss, who believes that the criminals are scum deserved to be locked up forever. Crane finds a body in the Hudson, and believes the person could have been murdered and then drowned. His superior and the magistrate, openly disdainful of Crane’s methodology, believe its a simple drowning case, and the body needs to be burned off.
Ichabod: I could determine if he were dead before he went into the Hudson.
High Constable( his boss): Must we again hear these heretical rantings?
Ichabod: There is nothing heretical about science, sir. The Chinese have written on it for hundreds of years… procedural study used to solve seemingly unsolvable crimes.
Again the camera shot, of the overflowing prisons, poor men, chained, and gagged, is unsettling. Showing the pitiable state of prisons in those times. Ichabod is a person who believes in fair trail, justice, values which are anathema to the persons who run the system. As he says
Even though I have seen confessions pried from the lips of the accused, often quite literally?
And his superior retorts back
For one who calls himself a Federalist, your mouth reeks of Republican liberalism.
So when the chance comes to investigate the murders at Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane’s boss, sees this as an opportunity to get rid of some one whom he considers a nuisance. Again the dialogue exchange here, where the Police Constable makes fun of Crane’s methods, mocking his tactics, points to what the department thinks about him.
Just so. Granted. And so you take your experimentations to Sleepy Hollow and catch the murderer who has tainted the place. Bring him here to face our good justice. Will you do this for me?
For me it was the set up of Crane’s character, that set the tone for the entire movie. Here we have a detective, using scientific methods of investigation, and up against a mysterious enemy. Crane however is not just against the Headless Horseman, he is also at odds with a brutish, corrupt system, and people living in ignorance.
And then as Crane makes the journey to Sleepy Hollow, Burton brings in the dark, scary world to focus. We have already been introduced to the Headless Horseman in the opening scene itself, though we don’t get the glimpse of it, we feel the terror, the victim being pursued, and then the hoof beats thundering around, with Danny Elfman’s music adding to the tension more. The horror in Sleepy Hollow is in your face, over the top, no subtleties here. Dark gloomy woods, thunder flashing, hoof beats, the very atmosphere that is destined to scare the wits out of even the bravest souls. It was Burton’s fitting tribute to the original Horror masters, Hammer Film Productions, whose movies he had grown up watching. Hammer was the movie house that came out with such flicks like The Satanic Rites of Dracula, The Horror of Frankenstein, Twins of Evil. But more important Burton’s fascination with Hammer, was again reflective of his love for the “odd man out”. As he said about actors like Peter Cushing and his idol Vincent Price.
You see that they’re intelligent, but you don’t really know what’s going on with them. There’s some mystery to who they really are. You feel their aloneness, you feel like they don’t socialize much, that they’re having some problems, are somewhat tormented, are somewhat living inside their own head. That’s why you relate to them.
Burton could have been speaking about Ichabod Crane himself, the loner, the outsider, some one who belongs neither in New York nor in Sleepy Hollow.
The scene where we get an inkling of the mysterious ”Headless Horseman” is brilliant, in that it does not give us an idea about the Horseman alone, but also of the characters in the village, the wealthy farmer Baltus Van Tassel, the village doctor Thomas Lancaster, the clergy man Steenwyck and the magistrate Samuel Phillipse, the key characters in the drama. As Crane tries to figure out the mystery, he finds it is not as simple as that, as one of the members begins to narrate the ”Headless Horseman” legend. Burton using the flashback technique to narrate the ”Horseman” legend. A Hessian mercenary, fighting along the Brits, during the American war of Revolution, chopping down Americans. Burton, builds up the larger than life mystique of the “Horseman” , in a chilling flashback, showing the Horseman, chopping of the heads of American soldiers fighting in the war, blood and gore spilling everywhere, and then the close up shot of his jagged teeth. Burton setting up the character, making him out to be a teriffying figure. Even going by Burton’s normally gory standards, the scene showing the Horseman being cut down is gruesome, a sword goes into a soldier’s eye socket, another soldier going head over heels in a burst of blood. What we see is a literal Danse Macabre, horrifying, gory and fascinating.
But its what follows after the flashback that is critical. Here the director, sets up every character’s view point. The doctor has no idea, the Clergy man feels its a punishment for the ” sins” of the populace, and a “failed faith” that has bought into town “Satan’s own”. And then Crane asking any one has actually seen the Horseman, and not getting a proper reply, tells them “I will look for a man of flesh and blood, not a goblin from hell”. The conflict is set here, not just Crane vs the Horseman, but Crane vs the entire village, a man of reasoning and science vs a village steeped in ignorance and superstition. Much more than the horror scenes, for me it is these initial scenes where Burton sets up the main characters, brings in their POV’s, and then their conflicts, that really are significant. Minus the characterization, Sleepy Hollow would have been just another summer special effects blockbuster, with it’s deeply etched out characters and the motivations, it rises above the standard horror genre. And we are still not introduced as yet to the 2 main critical characters in the story, Lady Van Tassel( Miranda Richardson) and Katrina Van Tassel( Christina Ricci), their nubile daughter.
Depp and Ricci
Another interesting aspect is the love story involving Ichabod, Katrina and Brom Van Brant( Casper Diem), the village lad, who is madly in love with Katrina. Ichabod is a rational, scientific minded persons, who does not believe in concepts like love and magic. While Katrina does flirt around with the ”city cop”, Ichabod is cold to her advances, or it could be that he had a nasty encounter earlier with Brom, who is possesive about Katrina.
Ichabod: There is no thing such as magic.
Katrina: Really? Then… what is your rebuttal to those romantic poets claiming proof of magic in a rose at full bloom, or even in a teardrop?
Ichabod: Poets have silly notions about plants and bodily secretions.
The conflict scenes between Ichabod and the villagers over the killings, adds to the drama. As in when Ichabod, investigating the murder of Jonathan Masbeth, when he is sceptical about the Horseman, believing the murderer to be a normal person. It is a fabulous scene, as for the first time we get to see Crane, using his investigating techniques, facing scorn from the villagers. And then his autopsy of the headless corpse. And then the conflict with Steenwyck over exhuming the dead corpses, something which he considers blasphemy. Sleepy Hollow works around the primary conflict, Crane vs the Headless Horseman, but what really gives it more depth as the minor conflicts in the background, Crane vs Steenwyck for obvious reasons, Crane vs Phillipe as the latter feels he is a threat to his authority.
Father Steenwyck: The Devil sent you Ichabod Crane, the Lord will not forgive your Sins.
Katrina is an interesting character, normally in a horror flick, she would have been a screaming damsel in distress. But here she is a feisty girl, rebellious, as we see in that scene, where she is secretely reading a forbidden book. But most important is her relationship with Ichabod, she is the polar opposite of Crane, believing in magic. In a lovely moment Crane, shows her a bird spinning in a cage, and tries to explain it as mere visual illusion. Katrina however believes its just magic. And then she tries to show Crane, about love, gifting him a book about who else, Romeo and Juliet. Katrina does seem to be fascinated by Crane, but she does not show it explicitly, just flirts along, giving him suggestions.
It is when Crane, actually first glimpses the Headless Horseman, that his value system is challenged. Again here it is the smaller moments that add up to the big one. As Crane is walking along the field, arguing with Phillipe, and Young Masbeth in tow, Burton drops in subtle hints, the cicadas going silent, the sheep running away. While Crane and Phillipe are immersed in their debate, Masbeth keeps noticing the signs, and then the Horseman strikes, we know that something is amiss, yet the suddennes with which the Horseman comes out into the open, throws us off kilter, as much as it does Ichabod, who at the end of it, finds his legs trembling, and then collapses. And then Burton leading us on to another aspect, Ichabod’s troubled childhood, his mother being led away for murder, its a nightmare that sucks us in.
Sleepy Hollow is a horror flick, right from the dark, gloomy atmosphere to Danny Elfman’s rousing music to the shots of the thunder bellowing in the background at key moments, to the dim, candle lit interiors. And yet Burton pans it out more as fantasy tale, the swashbuckling knight replaced here by a methodical, reason minded detective, and the damsel in distress being replaced by a more feisty teenager. The horror in Sleepy Hollow, is not the sudden, shocking kind, which catches you by surprise, rather its the one built up, and thrust right into your face. The Headless Horseman is more of the ogre, who terrifes a village, but then as we come to know the real story of the Horseman, and the actual culprit, the horror tale acquires a touch of pathos. We see the Horseman more as a victim wronged, than a man who goes around chopping off heads. The ending and the climax leave you stunned not just for the effects, the action scenes, but also the back story, the Horseman’s tale.
I always thought of Ichabod as a very delicate, fragile person who was maybe a little too in touch with his feminine side, like a frightened little girl- Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp to me has been one of the most interesting actors, not just for the fact that he is one of my favorites, but for his career itself. With his looks, and charisma, he could have made his career, playing the lover boy or teen idol. Instead he chooses to focus on roles that are eccentric, quirky and off kilter. I think that is one reason, why he has such a great equation with Burton. Its like Depp seems to read Burton’s mind, sharing into his values, his ideas. And that again shows in Sleepy Hollow, with Depp giving his own interpretation to the role of Ichabod Crane. Moving away from a masculine, super hero kind of role, Depp portrays Crane as an individual preferring to use his brains to solve the issue, and then his human side shows, when he trembles the first time he sights the Horseman. And then his sensitive side, as he agonizes over his childhood.
Christina Ricci is another wonderful performer, starting out as a child actress, she later came up with some splendid performances in more off beat stuff especially as the promiscous Wendy Hood in Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm, and then the manipulative teen in The Opposite of Sex, her other notable roles being Monster, Black Snake Moan and Prozac Nation. Ricci brings in a mixture of innocence, flirtatious charm in the role of Katrina, especially in the scenes, where she mocks at Crane’s unsentimental nature.
9 – The Outsider
Tim Burton continues his fascination for the odd men out in his upcomming production 9 directed by Shane Acker. Humanity has been decimated by machines, a scientist in the final days of the apocalypse, creates a group of ”stitch puppets” and breathes life into them. In effect a group of ”outsiders” , neither humans nor aliens, just a bunch of ”rag tag dolls” trying to save civilization. But the ultimate outsider is the character 9 himself( voiced by Elijah Wood). 9 is the baby of the Group of dolls, the newcomer to the group, but most important his outlook is different from the others in the group. While the other ”stitch punk” dolls take upon the task of saving humanity as something they have to do, 9 seeks to question “Why”, why should we save humanity? What is the purpose of life? Of Human Civilization? 9 is the ”outsider” in a group of ”outsiders” and yet he would be the one to lead them, for he alone questions the reason. Elijah Wood was Frodo in the Lord of Rings trilogy, and as to any similiarity between 9 and Frodo he states.
Yes and no. Both characters are on a journey, and both come into situations larger than themselves. The difference is that 9 has so much more to figure out. He basically throws a monkey wrench into a society that’s established itself. They’ve sequestered themselves into a fear-based hierarchy that 1 [voiced by Christopher Plummer] has established which prevents [the ragdolls] from asking who they are and where they come from. 9 comes into this world seeking to understand those things.
Like Ichabod Crane, “9″ comes from the outside into the Group to challenge their status Quo, their existence, their ideas. And like Crane, he would be the critical person, who would not only save the group, but help them to rediscover itself.
Actor Elijah Wood who voices 9, has a rather interesting profile, starting off as a child actor, with roles in movies like The Good Son, North, he made his name as an actor in Ang Lee’s take on suburbia life in The Ice Storm. As the rather lonely, confused Mike Carver, who goes along with Wendy Hood( Christina Ricci)’ s rather bizzare sexual fantasies, he stood out with an excellent performance. It was his role as Frodo in the Lord of Rings trilogy, that would push him to the big league, and along the way he showed his nasty mean streak in Sin City.
Actually it was Elijah’s role in LOTR, for which director Shane Acker, was one of the animators, which was instrumental in casting him as “9″. But the most important factor in Acker’s own word’s was “For an actor who could play someone naïve yet unafraid to follow his instincts, and in so doing emerge as a leader, I knew I wanted Elijah. He was a natural fit.”. The rag tag group of ”9″ stitchpunks, has ties to the human race, each with their own characteristic, however its “9″ who actually brings about the process, where members are motivate into “knowing where they actually came from”.
As the clock ticks down to 9.9.09, here are some pictures for you to enjoy at.
9 takes on the Fabrication Machine
9 vs the Cat Beast
9 gets a message from the Scientist
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Nice. so yet another afternoon plans got screwed. oh well, cheers!
Whats that about best laid plans of rodents and homo sapiens getting laid?
It was rather the plans to enter the paranormal realms of herbal persuasions.