Meticulous Ripper tale not for weak

Julien R. Fielding

Even though malnutrition, widespread disease, abject poverty, crime and overcrowding were pervasive in 19th century Great Britain, many glamorize the Victorian era (1837-1901), associating it only with teapots, friendly conversation, doilies, morality and cleanliness.

"From Hell," an oppressive, bloody descent into the underworld, is a wake-up call for the misinformed.

On Friday, Aug. 31, 1888, serial killer, "Jack the Ripper," claimed the life of Mary Ann Nicholls, the first of his five victims. Nicholls was found in the Whitechapel district in London with a savagely slashed throat and repeatedly stabbed stomach. She, like all subsequent victims, was a prostitute.

Fear gripped East End residents for three months, culminating on Nov. 9, when the last victim, Mary Jeanette Kelly, was found hideously dismembered and flayed.

Then, just as abruptly as the murders had started, they ended.

For more than 100 years, the identity of Jack the Ripper has remained unsolved, even though authorities and laymen alike have compiled an extensive list of suspects, from a crazed midwife to Prince Albert Victor.

Based on Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's 1990's serialized, illustrated casebook, "From Hell" leads us through the back streets of the East End, where prostitutes and criminals maintain a precarious, animalistic existence and death is only a dark alley and carriage ride away.

Our guide on this dark journey is Inspector Frederick George Abberline (Johnny Depp), an opium-, laudanum- and absinthe-addicted visionary. His job, with the sardonic assistance of Sgt. Peter Godley (Robbie Coltrane), is to catch a killer before another eviscerated body turns up.

While other films have mined Ripper lore for gruesome material, "From Hell" manages to go beyond them all both in scope and feeling.

The script, adapted by Terry Hayes ("Road Warrior") and Rafael Yglesias ("Fearless"), introduces us to the victims, not as corpses, but as human beings struggling to stay alive in the worst of conditions. So, when one of them dies, she isn't simply a forgettable victim. The disenfranchised are finally given a face, and their demise has all the more impact on us.

Moore, a British writer who helped reinvent the comic book industry, crafted "From Hell" from meticulous research. From the mountain of information, he fashioned his own hypothesis ? making the seemingly incongruous details slot neatly together ? about why the prostitutes were murdered and who the killer might have been. (It's ingenious when you see it unfold.)

Wisely, Hayes and Yglesias retain the original spirit of the 572-page illustrated novel, including the cameo by John Merrick, the "elephant man."

Committing such a monumental story to celluloid is no small feat, but directors Albert and Allen Hughes ("Dead Presidents," Menace II Society") and cinematographer Peter Deming ("Lost Highway," "Evil Dead II") do themselves proud, producing a disturbingly brilliantly effort.

The Hughes brothers, an unlikely pair to adapt this type of material ? it seems more fitting for Terry Gilliam or Tim Burton ? demonstrate what a treasure Hollywood has within its grasp.

While many critics have despaired of the gore factor, little of the killings is actually shown. For instance, when the Ripper grabs his victims, most of the slashing and killing is shown from behind.

What unsettles about this film, then, isn't as much what you see as what you think you see. These women were killed violently and senselessly. One had her uterus removed; another had her intestines removed, positioned around her head, then smeared with fecal matter.

We are spared none of these graphic details. Some of the victims are shown post-mortem with ghastly faces, frozen in mid-scream and peppered with flies. It's as if we are standing at the crime scene.

Furthermore, the oppressive atmosphere of the film never lifts.

We move from an opium den, where Abberline is in the middle of a disturbing vision, to the dripping, fetid streets where women turn tricks in alleyways and a ruthless gang members bully them for money. When our attention turns to the surgical "advances" of the day, a lobotomy, it's a gruesome reminder of how barbaric the era was.

Although much of the violence is implied, it doesn't mean parents should expose their children to this material ? as one idiot did when I went to see it.

This is NOT a film for someone with a weak constitution or anyone younger than 18. It is intended for mature audiences.

Casting Depp in the lead, who plays a character who's part Dean Corso from "The Ninth Gate" and part Inspector Icabod Crane from "Sleeping Hollow," was pure genius. He has those soft dark eyes that can reflect compassion, persistence and hopelessness. As far as American actors go, he does a decent Cockney dialect, and the rapport between him and Coltrane simply sparks.

Coltrane has a talent for stealing away every scene he's in, and this film proves no exception. There's just something about his personality that rivets your attention. He's a fabulous talent.

Heather Graham, who plays Ripper victim Mary Kelly, undoubtedly was cast for her porcelain features and wide blue eyes - she often reminds me of those '70s paintings of vacuous staring, big-eyed children. She is beautiful, but more depth would have been welcome. Especially when she's paired with some of the other actresses playing prostitutes, including the marvelous Katrin Cartlidge and Lesley Sharp (both Mike Leigh alums). They diminish her in every scene.

Finally, as the royal family's surgeon, Ian Holm gives a wonderfully rounded performance that's both tragic and demonic. He's a gifted actor, who although not as well known in the U.S. as Anthony Hopkins, has every bit as much skill.

A lush period piece, "From Hell" benefits from many deft behind-the-scene hands, including costume designer Kym Barrett ("Matrix," "Romeo + Juliet"), production designer Martin Childs ("Shakespeare in Love," "Quills") and art director Mark Rassett ("Quills").

These talents combine to make a film that distinguishes itself in a year of mostly duds. Next to "Moulin Rouge," "From Hell" is probably the most exciting visual effort this year.

Because of the subject matter, the film probably won't win any Academy awards in the major categories, which is unfortunate, although I'm sure it's good for a few in the "lesser" categories.

If you appreciate dark films with a bite, such as "Se7en" or "The Cell," "From Hell" may just be your cup of tea.

Meticulous Ripper tale not for weak was originally published in Daily Nonpareil on 25 October, 2001. © Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil LLC