Edward Scissorhands

Like most of Tim Burton's films, Edward Scissorhands doesn't offer much of a middle ground: You'll either adore it or ignore it. The film opens as eccentric inventor Vincent Price lovingly assembles a synthetic youth named Edward (Johnny Depp). The boy has all the essential ingredients except a pair of hands; he has temporarily been fitted out with pointy, shardlike metal extremities. Alas, the inventor dies before Edward can be completed. Left alone in the huge Price mansion, Edward is rescued by Avon lady Peg Boggs (Dianne Weist), who adopts the boy despite his scissorlike hands. Though his gestures have the capacity to maim or even kill, Edward is a gentle soul who wants only to be loved. Peg's daughter Kim (Winona Rider) likes Edward, but can't adjust to his clawlike hands and retreats to a tempestuous relationship with bully-boy Jim (Anthony Michael Hall). Becoming a local celebrity, Edward is surrounded by fair-weather friends. When he's accused of a crime, however, only Peg and Kim champion his cause. As bizarre as the proceeding becomes at times, Edward Scissorhands maintains its essential heart and warmth, thanks to a magnificent performance by Johnny Depp. Be prepared, however, for the most poignant finale this side of Chaplin's City Lights.