Ed Wood

REVIEW
Depp stars as the titular character in this ideally crafted biopic of the 1950s film director who single-handedly molded the grade-B aesthetic. Shot in black and white and imitating the cheesy production values of Wood's immortal cult classics, the film is a perfect tribute to the man whose charming incompetence as a filmmaker was equally matched by an unrelenting enthusiasm for the medium. Depp's portrayal of Wood, a WWII vet with an insatiable appetite for angora and women's clothing, is right on the money, but it is Landau's astonishing portrait of Bela Lugosi that steals the show. As the drug-addicted fallen star, Landau's Oscar-winning performance transforms the film from simple biography to an inspirational tale of friendship and redemption. Fortunately, director Burton tempers the film's serious underbelly with generous doses of hilarity and wit, or to quote Depp as Wood, "Transvestites! Get me transvestites!"