This week’s new release Dark Shadows marks the eighth collaboration between director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp ever since their idiosyncratic partnership began in 1990.
Tim comes up with these incredible ideas and Johnny translates them on the screen- Paula Fleri-Soler
Burton is arguably the most inventive man working in Hollywood today. His body of work consists of an irresistible combination of gothic horror and heartfelt whimsy; a series of films that can be described as adult fairytales for the modern era.
His protagonists are invariably oddball figures in a world too ordinary or normal to understand them.
Burton’s stories may be dark and occasionally disturbing yet he perennially seeks out the lighter side of his protagonists – peeling off their outer layers to reveal their vulnerabilities and innate humanness – even if at times they are less than human.
Who better then to give life to these strange but alluring characters than Johnny Depp? From the moment he took on the pale and scarred visage of the man with unruly hair and scissors for hands in Edward Scissorhands (1990), Depp forever shed the teen idol image he’d cultivated during the 1980s to reveal a versatile and brave actor, his portrayal of the bewildered artificial man a delight to behold.
Four years later, Burton and Depp reunited for Ed Wood, a biopic about the 1950s B-movie director considered by many to be the worst film director of all time. With Burton at the helm, this was never a parody but more of an affectionate tribute, and as played by Depp, Wood comes across as a man whose infectious optimism could not be faulted even though his films were utter crap.
Both Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood were written by Burton, as was 2005’s Corpse Bride, a moving if macabre stop-motion animated gothic fable in which Depp voiced the protagonist Victor Van Dort, a reluctant bridegroom-to-be who’s whisked off to a dark and magical underworld on the eve of his nuptials.
Burton has proved equally adept when working with material from other sources, each time stamping his own inimitable mark while finding a suitable role for Depp.
Ichabod Crane in 1999’s Sleepy Hollow is a great example. Adapted from the short story by Washington Irving, Depp is at his foppish best as a rather unorthodox New York City detective sent to the town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of gruesome murders.
This was followed in 2005 by Depp’s zany portrayal of Willy Wonka in Burton’s colourful and surreal adaptation of Roald Dahl’s perennial favourite Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Burton got Depp to show off another side of his many talents – his hitherto unheard singing voice – in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), which earned the actor his third nomination for the Best Actor Oscar.
In 2010’s Alice in Wonderland Depp let rip, his portrayal of the Mad Hatter – with a heavy emphasis on the ‘mad’ – probably the actor’s most demented performance yet, in possibly the most bizarre take on Lewis Carroll’s revered classic.
It came as no surprise, therefore, that the two would come together for the big-screen adaptation of Dark Shadows, a supernaturally-tinged 1960s American soap opera.
“Obviously, the one person who immediately came to mind to bring (Dark Shadows) to life was Tim,” Depp said. “He became really pumped up about it as we began to develop it.”
Burton said in turn: “Johnny always puts 100 per cent into everything he does, and I could tell right away he had a passion for this, and I was excited to see where we could go with the story, and I knew it would be a lot of fun.”
Commenting on the longevity of their relationship, Burton said one of the joys of working with Depp is his willingness to try anything. “He’s always coming up with new things, which we both enjoy,” he explained. “So every time we work together is different, and that’s what keeps it fun and fresh.”
Richard Zanuck, a co-producer on Dark Shadows, agreed. “Each collaboration between the two of them is quite amazing – Tim comes up with these incredible ideas and Johnny translates them on the screen,” Zanuck said. “They know each other so well, Johnny can tell by Tim’s expression whether he likes something, or Tim will say one or two things and Johnny will immediately get what Tim wants,” Zanuck added.
Like his hero Ed Wood, Burton has surrounded himself with a group of frequent collaborators (including his partner Helena Bonham Carter and musician Danny Elfman) led by Depp.
Thankfully, 20-odd years after their first collaboration – and unlike many other Hollywood partnerships – this one still seems to be going strong.
And despite the lukewarm reviews their most recent opus has garnered, theirs is indubitably cinema’s most creative alliance, with hopefully more quirky fantasy and gothic humour to come.