The Legend Of Johnny Depp
Let me preface my first article as a PFC author by saying that it is a heady feeling to be sharing this forum with the people whose writings I have been following avidly, not to mention people like Anurag Kashyap and Sudhir Mishra, whose films have enthralled me time and again. I am sure I’m gonna have lots of fun!
I was about 10 when I saw “Edward Scissorhands” for the first time.(It was also one of the first Hollywood movies I saw) The modern-day fairytale style of narration, I’m sure went a long way towards holding a child’s attention, and the novelty value of seeing a freakish guy with dozens of acissors dangling where his hands should have been…… all in all, it was a dazzling experience.
However, even then, what really grabbed me, what really gave me shivers was the image of a chalk-faced, confused, vulnerable….. and so deeply child-like Johnny Depp. This performance would prove to be a turning point in what is already one of the most remarkable careers of his generation.
As my taste grew more evolved, I watched many more films featuring this amazingly versatile actor. The first among these, some three years ago, when I was in Class XI, was “Ed Wood”(not Pirates of The Caribbean, imagine!), Tim Burton’s marvellously funny and touching portrait of the maverick, flamboyant movie-maker of the 50’s(By then, I already had a retro fetish, for both Bollywood and Hollywood ). Depp’s performance in this film has to be seen to be believed. Talk about getting under the skin of the character…… from the moment he waltzs in on the screen, all you can do is sit and watch……and try to close your mouth. Depp’s chameleon-like ability to master, but not overdo, almost any accent(notice the finely-nuanced Scottish one he pulls off to perfection in “Finding Neverland”, almost a decade after Ed Wood) coupled with his manic energy and obvious emoting gifts are on display here.
After being completely swept off my feet by this film, I saw the infinitely more “mainstream” and “commercial” Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy, in which Depp played the character for which he is perhaps best known now: the irrepressible, witty, swaggering and sometimes treacherous pirate Jack Sparrow. Now the POC trilogy very much falls into the big-budget Hollywood fare category. Consequently, it has all the pitfalls and cliches that one associates with said company. However, it is Johnny Depp, who steers the ship, so to speak, all the way along, especially in the first film “The Curse Of The Black Pearl”.(In fact, one of the principal criticisms of the later films in the franchise was that they had too little of Sparrow!) The overwhelming praise Depp generated culminated even got him an Oscar nomination, in which he eventually lost out to Sean Penn for “Mystic River” . (Perhaps it’s just my Depp bias speaking, but is this another example of an out-and-out comic role losing out in the Oscar stakes to a more quote-unquote serious role?)
In the last year or so, I have watched half-a-dozen more Johnny Depp movies, including “Sweeney Todd”, (my personal favourite among them), which was a departure of sorts for Depp. For the first time, he worked in a musical, and even though he has an untrained voice, did splendidly, garnering kudos from all over, and yet another Oscar nomination(NOT that it mattered). The cold fury in his eyes bring out the angst and the pent-up bile of a broken man to perfection…..and the songs were fun, too!
The other usual suspects included “Finding Neverland” a somewhat weary but genuinely touching and often brilliant take on Sir James Barrie, the man who created the immortal play “Peter Pan”. Once again Depp delivers in style as the shy genius who crafted amazing worlds through the sheer power of his imagination. “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory” was a joy-ride through and through, and Depp literally let his hair down as Willy Wonka, the wildly creative but reclusive chocolatier.
Some were more quirky(than usual, by Depp’s standards), like playing legendary Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s fictional alter-ego Raoul Duke in the screen adaptation of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. Then there was “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” another gripping drama, in which Depp was overshadowed for once, by a 19-year old by the name of Leonardo Di Caprio……
Along the way, Depp has forged a highly productive partnership with director Tim Burton, one which has already given us films like Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd. I am eagerly awaiting the upcoming projects like “Public Enemies”, from Michael Mann, the director of the majestic “Heat” and “Collateral”. Also on the anvil are “Shantaram” where we have the intriguing prospect of seeing Johnny Depp and Amitabh Bachchan share screen space. But the one to watch out for, in my opinion is, Tim Burton’s next film, “Alice in Wonderland” where Depp plays the Mad Hatter(who else?).
Long live the legend of Johnny Depp!
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Movies, People , Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp, Movies
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jiyo mere raja
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next time make some solid statments, so that i can operate upon them
Aditya,
try watching “The Ninth Gate”. The film and the guy who carried the film (”the” Depp)- both are enjoyable.
welcome aboard!
Welcome to PFC, Adi. And great way to start off, with a post on one of my favorites. Some more JD movies i could recommend.
Donnie Brasco- Pretty much underrated gangster flick. Fab performance by Al Pacino and Depp as an undercover agent.
Sleepy Hollow- I know many were critical of this Depp-Burton collaboration, but i liked it.
Blow- Another watchable gangster flick.
From Hell-I am a sucker for Victorian era crime dramas, so loved this.
Welcome to Passionpur, Aditya!
Donnie Brasco is surely one hell of a movie….and Depp is certainly able to hold his own against the legendary Al Pacino…
Yes Ratnakar. I liked Blow a lot for JD’s acting.
How the HELL cud u 4get Sleepy Hollow another near-masterpiece frm Depp & Burton? And frm his upcmng projects Riddler frm Batman 2 b (most probably) helmed by Chris Nolan?
Depp still hasnt confirmed himself for the role of ‘Shantaram’ even though he is co-producing the film. Hence this film is kindof on hold and Mira Nair has moved onto her next one Amelia *ing Hillary Swank…
Arthi is right, as of now Depp is still iffy about starring in Shantaram. Lot of problems in shooting.
I am awaiting Public Enemies, Johhny Depp as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as FED agent Melvin Purvis. Watching a Depp-Bale face off on screen, is just too irrestible.
Hey Aditya,nice article on one of my favourite actors.
His ‘Donnie Brasco’ with Al Pacino is a good watch and so is Polanski’s ‘The Ninth Gate’. I somehow missed POTC series. Missed first part and soon 3 followed when I got into watching his old work. So, unless I see the first part, no point seeing the subsequent ones.
@Oxy
You did not miss much, POTC-3 sucks. Go for Part I, the best of all. Part 2 is also good, though many did not like it.
@Ratnakar,Oxy and others
Looking forward to watching “Donnie Brasco”
And yes, dear God, let Depp bag the role of the Riddler, pleeeeeeaze! Have been getting nightmares after hearing the gossip for the next film(Angelina Jolie as Catwoman???)
This is my personal opinion and hoefully will not enrage you.
For me Depp ,just like our own Naseruddin Shah, can never let go his own self completely in whatever role he tries to portray.So be it ‘From Hell’ or ‘POTC’ or ‘Sweeny Todd’, you will always find a little bit of dopey-eyed,accented-english-speaking Johnny Depp on screen. Just like Mirza Ghalib’s ‘Mirza-yet-naseeruddin shah’,Sarfarosh’s ‘ghazal singer-yet-naseerruddin shah’ ghalib or even A Wednesday’s ‘common man-yet-naseeruddin shah’.
talkin about ‘getting inside the skin’ etc brings to my mind a few names from international cinema like Tony Hopkins, Javier Bardem,Paul Giamatti,Catalina Sandino Moreno etc. From Indian turf only two names of recent time come out, Om Puri and Pankaj Kapur.
So since, ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ have we ever really seen Johnny Depp doing for what he is lauded so far;acting?
Cant get myself to watch Ed Wood or Finding Neverland (havent seen any of Depp’s works) and I keep picking some or the other movie over it… Already picked Twelve Monkeys, American Beauty, Fountain and Pi. And Machinist, Brazil and Trial are waiting… For some reason the weirdness of it all (esp Ed Wood) puts me off…
@rbehemoth - assuming you are a Terry Gilliam fan(coz u have 2 of them on ur list), u shuld watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (assuming u haven’t coz u mentioned u haven’t seen depps work), so you would get to watch both of them for the price of one
my all time fav movie…Njoy
@ Ratna, haa!!! I guessed so. I will watch POTC when nothing else is left to watch and that is not possible so I skip POTC series for good then…
w@ Oxy …whats wrong with the POTC series ?? not artsy enough for you ?
@labor_day_sale,
POV I believe.
I did not find “dopey-eyed,accented-english-speaking” staff in dead man, Ed Wood, Finding NeverLand or Whats eating Gilbert Grape. POTC and Sweeny Todd actually required that appearance IMO.
what about katha, jaane bhi do yaaro, mirch masala, hero hiralal(film sucked, shah did’nt), Tamas?
actually i did not find any similiarity between Naseer of Sparsh or Paar or Maasom either.
@labor_day_sale
Although I disagree(my reasons are the same as RoodRow’s)
I admit if, like me, you watch all the three Pirates films and Sweeney Todd back-to-back in one big lazy weekend….you might just get a teensy-weensy bit weary…occasionally that is
@ Kunal, Priority my man, Priority!!!
@aditya
but bardem atill looks better dan depp…and bardem knows one thing better…dat is to act