Feels Like a Retread
A Customer Review by CineMan
"From Hell", the 2005 Jack the Ripper opus from the Hughes Brothers, almost makes the grade as the definitive movie about Victorian England's elusive killer. It's certainly atmospheric enough, with fog-shrouded alleyways and convincingly evocative street scenes brought vividly to life by cinematographer, Peter Deming.
Most of the performances are first-rate, too, with Johnny Depp a standout as Inspector Frederick Abberline, a real-life detective who, for purposes of the film, is gifted with psychic talents and cursed with a drug problem. Bedraggled and debauched, Depp drags Abberline through the grim proceedings with intelligence and compassion; he's empathetic with the Whitechapel crowd, but wary, as well. He looks on the ill-fated prostitutes as fellow human beings fallen on hard times, but their men are something else, entirely. Vicious, cunning, and altogether amoral, any number of these men rivaled the infamous serial killer in terms of misogyny and violence against women. Robbie Coltrane is also fine as Abberline's nursemaid/assistant. Tough and blunt, Coltrane heaves his hulking bulk after the addled Depp, trailing him from murder scene to opium den with the weary acceptance of a loyal manservant; it is Coltrane who gives the movie its true heart. Ian Holm, as Sir William Gull, physician to the Queen, also gives a finely shaded, elegant performance as a medical man practicing long past his point of retirement. More problematic, I think, is Heather Graham, a uniquely modern, American actress who, here, attempts to assay the role of a 19th Century London prostitute, and none too successfully. I like Graham alright, but she's just not a fit with this film. Her accent isn't convincing, and she just doesn't have the acting chops to carry off the important role of Mary Jane Kelley. The American actress, Susan Clark, fared better as Mary Kelley in the 1979 film, "Murder By Decree", and I think therein lies a big part of the problem that I have with "From Hell". Not Heather Graham's performance, but comparisons with the earlier film.
"Murder By Decree" featured famed fictional sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, and his sidekick, Dr. Watson, frantically chasing around London in an attempt to find, and put a stop to Jack the Ripper's madness. In this film, Christopher Plummer and James Mason excelled in the roles of the dynamic Holmes and Watson, with Genevieve Bujold, David Hemmings, Donald Sutherland, Sir John Gielgud, and Anthony Quayle rounding out the big-name cast. While not perfect, "Murder By Decree" seems to me to be a more cohesive film, and covers much of the same territory that is retread in "From Hell". In fact, except for the detectives, "From Hell" could have been, essentially, a remake.
The same could also be said with regards to the 1988 miniseries, which is perhaps, to date, the definitive Jack the Ripper story. In it, Michael Caine convincingly portrayed an older, wiser Abberline (minus the ESP and drug problem), Armand Assante played a suspect, Jane Seymour and Susan George were among the menaced women, and Ray McAnally was cast as Sir William Gull. The miniseries played out over several nights, giving it time to present a more detailed mystery, and to delve more deeply into the characters of those involved. "From Hell" also seems to borrow liberally from this miniseries, thereby giving it a less-than-fresh feel(although the in-your-face gore is something missing from either of these earlier treatments).
While "From Hell" suffers from comparisons to earlier films, it is still stylish and exciting, with (mostly) good performances, so it should satisfy fans of period thrillers.