Oh.My.Gosh. This movie is soooooo good. Not only is it a Tim Burton movie, so it’s iconically aesthetic, but it also has a very meaningful aftertaste that is driving me nuts.
I have a looong list of favorite movies.
In Time, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, Warm Bodies, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Host (2013), Harry Potter, Underworld, The Cutting Edge, Abduction, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, The Phantom of the Opera (2004), Maximum Ride, Serenity (2005), Odd Thomas, Gattaca, Star Wars (all of them), Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Xanadu, Percy Jackson, EverAfter, Pan, The Secret of Moonacre, Max Steel, The Mask of Zorro, The Princess Bride, Mirror Mirror, Stardust… there’s so, so many. And this isn’t even all of them.
But as soon as the credits began to roll, I knew that the list had been topped; and by none other than
Edward Scissorhands.
Edward Scissorhands is the thrilling story of a young man with a disability. He was built by an old man seeking companionship in his huge, dark, solitary castle. It’s a very gothic themed place, covered in black dust and rusty gears and holes in the ceilings. No one from the town goes there, and the man seems to have survived all on his own somehow. He creates robotic machines to carry out tasks, which is demonstrated while making sugar cookies. It all seems very lonely at first. Then he puts a heart into one of the machines and slowly but surely, it begins to come alive. The only problem is… he has giant scissors instead of hands.
Over time, Edward comes to find his own path without the old man (who dies somewhere along the way). He cuts apart magazine and newspaper bits about people with disabilities, pinning them to the wall above his “bed”. He cuts the shrubs in the garden, but that seems to be his only hobby. He is very much alone and lonely.
One day, a woman named Peg knocks on his door trying to sell him some Avon products. When no one answers, she opens the door and starts to look around.
Peg is scared at first when Edward comes out of the shadows, but quickly becomes sympathetic. He has scars all over his face from where he has cut himself, and she does her best to fix him up a little. When he asks her to not leave him, she welcomes him to go home with her to get some medicine on his face. And this is the intro to the movie.
Personally, I am a big fan for many reasons. Firstly, I love the aesthetic. The little suburban town that Peg lives in is very pastel. It’s peachily petite, colorful, and “happy”. I hate it. I’d prefer pitch’s castle, where it’s dark and gloomy and seems to always stay in a thick bank of mist. The differences are extremely fascinating and beautiful.
I also love the characters, and the way that they are set up. Usually when someone is watching a movie, it becomes clear that the good guys are bright and colorful and the bad guys are dark and scary. But in Edward Scissorhands, it’s the opposite. The little boy who wears black is pure and innocent, and the ones wearing pastels want to destroy that. He gets hurt, seduced (and almost raped), beaten, chased, cussed at, abused, arrested, and harshly judged. The people in pastels, adults and adolescents alike, are the ones who do it all to him. Edward really only has a few people on his side; Peg, Peg’s husband, Kevin (Peg’s son), Kim (Peg’s daughter), and officer Allen. Everybody else tries to destroy his innocence. I like this theme because it reverses the roles, but also because it shows how easily pure minds can be crushed. He starts off as their friend, accepted by nearly everyone, and ends up almost dead because of their hatred in the end.
But nevertheless, he tries to do his best. Being a mechanical creature doesn’t stop him from having feelings. He falls hopelessly in love with Peg’s daughter, and still tries to do what’s best for her even when she turns him down or gets him in trouble. He is nothing but polite to the family who took him in, even when he’s upset or beaten or bullied and hurt. He’s very careful with his scissors for the majority of the movie, and never tries to hurt anyone unless he absolutely has to. He gets abused and bullied, but doesn’t fight back. He’s strong, and I love that. So often directors like to make the character seem weak, like an injured fawn that has to be nursed back to health. But Edward is a strong character, he just knows how to pick his battles. He only hurts someone when they are threatening the life of someone he loves, or if it’s a total accident. He’s kind even when others are not kind to him.
Something else I also really like about this movie is how Kim is drop dead gorgeous inside and out. She’s probably the prettiest chic I’ve ever seen, partially due to the fact that she has a really pretty heart. (Just like my best friend!!) It’s not often in movies that there’s a really pretty girl who’s actually nice. Most of the “pretty girls” have the personality of watered-down cardboard, and most of the “ugly girls” are depicted as having the best hearts. But Kim is beautiful and kind, with an actual personality. I love that they did that. You don’t have to be ugly to be a good person. (Although, I feel like I’m making it work. Jk, jk.)
(Wait am I a good person? I hope so. … Sorry, slight tangent, I got distracted lol)
The movie also speaks to how humans treat people who are different. It shows how at first, his enigma is accepted as a new shiny plaything. But when the excitement gets old… well, they look for ways to continue playing. But it’s not fun for him anymore. Like a cat and a mouse, they do whatever they can to break him. Ruin his innocence, corrupt his mind, hurt him, betray him, and eventually, straight up try to kill him. This movie showcases what it feels like to have a big heart; always caring about people, but always seeming to hurt them. Always trying your best, but always failing. Always looking for the good in people, and always missing that some simply don’t have good intentions at all. Always trying to be good, and always getting painted as bad.
It’s beautifully heartbreaking.
Here’s a few of my favorite scenes, but please be warned!! Huge spoilers!! If you have not seen the movie yet,
DO NOT WATCH THESE CLIPS!!
Please enjoy it in full, don’t ruin it for yourself now. Please!!
Anyway, yeah. I just wanted to share some of my thoughts as to why I love the movie so much. Edward is a very sweet character, and I hate how it ended. But I think Edward and Kim are perfect for each other. (Stupid suburban housewives…)
I hope you have a great rest of your day! Stay safe and treat others well. Thanks for reading!
♡, Shortie
