In the late summer through early fall of 1888, the freshly-installed Trans-Atlantic cable carried splashy news across the ocean of a series of grisly murders in the East End of London.
Dubbed by the press Jack the Ripper, the murderer, who was never caught, slashed five prostitutes to ribbons. The extreme violence of the killings coupled with the lack of a culprit and the benefit of an exceptional moniker have kept the Ripper in the heart and mind of the world for 130 years.
Among the many versions of the fog-enshrined events is the excellent made-for-TV two-part movie "Jack the Ripper" (1988), starring Michael Caine as Inspector Abberline. In From Hell (2001), Depp also plays Inspector Abberline. However, his character in the 2001 film is a combination of Abberline and a supposed clairvoyant named Robert Lees (featured in the 1988 movie).
Both films purport to present the facts and produce the assailant. Yet in fact neither does anything of the sort. From Hell certainly has no merit to be marketed as an authentic source of reputable information. Case in point the combining of actual persons into a fictional character.
That said, it's still the most stylish presentation of Jack the Ripper yet. Lots of great shots establish mood, nice inventive bits. Not on par with Bram Stoker's Dracula in terms of sheer eye-candy, but about as impressive as Sleepy Hollow and The Wolfman.
A major attraction to the subject is the extreme combination of sex and violence. And in keeping with these supremely saleable themes is the class component. The popular conception of the Ripper is of a man in top hat with a Victorian cape. Conducting Masonic rituals, a member of the elite.
One lasting hypothesis to the killer's identity is of a physician to the Royals, protected by the equivalent of a Secret Security limousine. However, DNA analysis in 2014 of the blood-stained shawl of a Ripper victim confirms, supposedly, that the murderer was actually an insane barber named Kosminski.
There's a scene in the Jeff Goldblum version of The Fly where even though his character is totally physically repellent, with parts falling off and pus everywhere, Geena Davis just has to go in for a big ol' hug...and audiences don't buy it. Similarly, anyone who's ever seen the Mitre Square crime scene photo knows there's no way a crucial scene in From Hell could ever happen at all.
Notably the film almost completely omits the letters to the police from the killer which were in fact authentic. It's from one of those letters that the film derives its name, and that much is included. But the Michael Caine version presents that taunting and revealing dialogue aspect much better.
Aside from a couple bad ideas more suited to the graphic novel form, From Hell ranks high on the list of fall film fare.
FROM HELL
Starring Johnny Depp,
Heather Graham,
Ian Holm,
Robbie Coltrane,
Ian Richardson
Directed by Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Written by Terry Hayes, Rafael Yglesias
Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell
Runtime 122 minutes
Rated R
Stewart Kirby writes for
THE INDEPENDENT
and
TWO RIVERS TRIBUNE
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