I Bet You Didn't See... Sleepy Hollow

At the end of the 18th Century, America has won its fight for independence. However, a ghost haunts part of upstate New York.

Innovative and revolutionary Inspector Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is tasked with using his techniques in bringing the person responsible for several beheadings in the small village of Sleepy Hollow to New York "to face their justice". As the police and justice system in the city are not interested in his methods, he takes on the task assuming that this is a quiet village of superstitious people who don't know any better and will help him prove his doubters wrong.

(L-R) Sparrow, Dumbledore, Uncle Vernon and Palpatine

Of course, this turns out not to be the case. Crane is the one who is proven wrong and learns lessons, as well as facing some old personal demons.

Johnny Depp leads a rather stellar cast, with Christina Ricci as Katrina Van Tassel and Crane's love interest, Michael Gambon as the proud but cowardly rich farmer and town leader and Ian McDiarmid (yes, Emperor Palpatine!) as the town doctor, along with Miranda Richardson, Richard Griffiths, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lee and Alan Armstrong (the latter two in very minor roles). Martin Landau makes a very brief and uncredited appearance as one of the first victims at the beginning of the film.

Eerie, spooky settings on northern New York State

Sleepy Hollow did well upon release, gaining a trio of Academy Award nominations in 2000 (winning Best Art Direction), winning two out of three BAFTA awards two weeks later and another 22 various other awards throughout the awards season. It did particularly well for people involved at the Satellite Awards, winning five of the eight categories where people were nominated. Unfortunately, Depp did not win there, but he was up for "Best Actor - Musical or Comedy" and I think the film didn't really justify being a comedy in that way.

Depp as Crane

In the film, Crane is portrayed as not quite bumbling but more of a socially awkward yet wildly intelligent man, with quite a weak stomach. This doesn't bode well for a homicide detective. Being a man of logic and reasoning, he clashes with the townsfolk of Sleepy Hollow and this interaction makes him the comedy-relief in his own film. Not sure if that really works.

Ricci's role as Katrina is interesting though. Katrina is strong-willed and knowledgeable and she takes an interest in Crane. This leads to her being his love interest, but the development is... bland and seems to only be driven by their shared fear of the Headless Horseman (Walken). I found her monotoned and wooden, while Depp was far more relaxed in his awkward role. Maybe that was the intention? Ricci certainly fared well, coming away with two awards from it against Depp's single Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favourite Actor - Horror". Their relationship doesn't really follow a logical growth, seeing as Crane suspects Katrina of witchcraft and then suddenly and quite by chance realises she is protecting him. It doesn't really run well.

Crane using Katrina as protection

Then there is the storyline set up of Crane's "modern" techniques that just gets abandoned midway through and never mentioned again, but it isn't that important give the ultimate context of the film. It is used to emphasise Crane's forward thinking and how he is conflicted with the supernatural events he witnesses, but it is never brought back after it gets dropped. Even if they showed Crane accepting faith along with science, that might have closed off that line a bit.

Walken as the Horseman, his head returned

Plus you get distracted by Christopher Walken's head regrowing.

I can't see it fitting into any Comedy categories though, as it has been allocated there at times. As mentioned, Crane does end up being his own comedy-relief, and it seemed to be a bit contrived. The fainting and fear is fair, given where he has come from, so trying to make it comedic was an unusual angle. But hey, I'm just an amateur film blogger, not a New York Times' chief film critic! What do I know?

The film did best in the Art Direction categories, which is completely justified. Throughout, the colouring is a little flat, with lots of dark scenes, greys and blue-grey. This allows the blood to stand out (and this is brightened to exaggerate it), but the main palette of colour also allows for an odd depth where you notice a few little details more, such as particular clothes at just the right time. It is clever, and justly rewarded.

Sadly, though, I feel Sleepy Hollow is an average watch. It's good for a fun Halloween night or spooky date night. Christopher Walken is great. He milked his role!

Directed by: Tim Burton

Based on: The Legend of Sleep Hollow by Washington Irving

Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones

Release Date: 17 November 1999

Rating: 7/10