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From Hell
Jack the
Ripper, one of the most notorious and yet mysterious figures
every to emerge from history. A cold, and ruthless killer,
who not only murdered several prostitutes, but also mutilated
the bodies in ways that had never been seen before, and have
rarely been seen since. The very name conjures up images of
horror, rain falling on cobblestones, gaslights, and fog filled
nights of fear that befell the Whitechapel district of London
in 1888. The Ripper was the first serial killer to gain international
notoriety and to become famous via the papers as his legend
and stories grew with each grisly victim. The people of London
were shocked, and the poor people and especially the prostitutes
were outraged that nothing was being done by what they saw
as a disinterested upper class, as the poor lived in fear
of being the Rippers next victim. The murder spree of 5 prostitutes
was shocking not so much in that the ladies were killed, but
that each one was killed silently and in a vicious manner,
and each murder was even more grisly and savage than the one
before. Oddly just as quickly as the Rippers deadly
spree started, it ceased and the Ripper was never to be heard
from again. What remained was one of the greatest mysteries
in history and numerous theories abound as to who the Ripper
was, and what the motivations behind his crime were. There
have been numerous movies and books over the years that have
looked into the Ripper, in fact, there have been more books
written on Jack the Ripper than on all the US Presidents combined.
One movie, Time After Time even went so far as
to pose that the Ripper escaped justice by fleeing in a time
machine built by H.G. Wells. Thankfully, in the new film From
Hell the Hughes brothers remained faithful to the historical
facts and give viewers a modern tale of the Ripper that chills,
and delivers an effective story and provides some interesting
takes on the Ripper and his motivations.
The story
tells of 6 working girls, who are down on their luck, they
are being threatened by a local thug and his men to pay him
a Pound a week or be maimed or killed. The working girls fear
how they will get the money to pay him, much less earn enough
from selling themselves for food and shelter. Before long,
one of the girls is found dead. She has had her throat cut,
and has been mutilated in ways that sicken and shock even
the medical examiners that are sent in. There are no clues
and no suspects and the police officials are interested in
keeping this matter quiet and getting the case taken care
of. Into the investigation comes Inspector Fred Abberline
(Johnny Depp), a gifted yet troubled man who has lost his
family but is known for his visions that he has when he is
taking opium and other drugs. Sgt. Peter Godley (Robbie Coltrane)
assists Abberline, a quote spouting man who is loyal to Abberline
and determined to help the inspector solve the case. Shortly
after the discovery of the first victim, a second victim is
found and Abberline is drawn closer to the investigation as
he has seen this woman in one of his visions. He also makes
a discovery between the victims that leads him to a theory
that shocks his superiors and threatens to upset the social
balance of England. The investigation leads Abberline to Mary
Kelly (Heather Graham), a pretty working girl who was friends
with the murdered lady and whose friends seem to be the targets
of the killer. Mary has information related to one of her
friends being involved with a man who turns out to be related
to be part of the Royal family, but in order to protect herself,
her friends, and the child her friend fathered with this man,
she keeps quiet. Eventually Abberline earns her trust and
he struggles to find the killer while battling all manner
of foes including those in his own office, and his growing
feelings for Mary. Things take a turn for the unexpected when
a prominent physician to the Royal Family, Sir William Gull(
Ian Holm), not only provides Abberline with information that
indicates the killer is an educated and professional man,
and likely a Dr, as well as some shocking information about
the Royal family that if leaked, would not only put his life
in danger, but would unravel the Royal family. What follows
is a gripping and enticing tale of love, murder, and mystery,
as Abberline seeks to stop the killings, protect Mary and
her friends, and fight through the obstacles that are presented
to him by prominent members of society and his own department.
The film
was directed by Albert and John Hughes who burst onto the
scene with Menace II Society and the recent American
Pimp while at first From Hell seems a departure
from their works that are often set in the ghetto, the filmmakers
noted that the Whitechapel area was very much a ghetto for
the time and the people their faced many of the same issues
for survival that people in similar locations face today.
The direction and pacing is crisp and the scenery and costumes
are first rate. The film was shot in the Czech Republic and
since many of the Victorian buildings are no longer in place
in England, sets had to be built in the fields near Prague.
The results are fantastic and the visuals of the movie add
to the somber and menacing tone. The cast is first rate and
Depp and Graham are fantastic in their roles as they play
the parts with conviction yet never try to overplay the roles
or let their characters become larger than the story as a
whole. Coltrane is fantastic as he brings toughness, wisdom
and compassion to his role of Godley, and is a trusted and
loyal companion to Abberline. While the film is violent, it
is not as gratuitous as many films of the day and much of
the brutality is explained by the characters rather then presented
to the audience in gory detail. That being said, there is
still plenty of gore to the film, but the film does a great
job in showing the brutality but restraining the gore as what
is imagined is far worse than what is often shown. The film
is a very effective drama and a gripping look into one of
the darkest chapters in human history. The title of the film
comes from a note written by the Ripper where he wrote that
his location is from Hell. Easily one of the better films
of the year and a very entertaining and well-made film, "From
Hell" is a must see.