The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The television form of the classic The Legend of Sleepy Hollow promised a more civil narrative than Tim Burton's visual masterpiece, Sleepy Hollow, which had come out a few years earlier. Automatically, everyone then assumes that the emphasis will be on the characters and their relationships, which undergo a relatively straightforward but impressive development. Unfortunately, the portrayal of characters is not exactly the director's strong point, and it's further confirmed by the weak performances of the actors, among whom the worst is the main protagonist. Due to his sleaziness bordering on perversion, I was wishing for his death from the very first shot. I rooted all the more for the likable blacksmith in the love struggle because he at least had a well-acted character. There is no excuse for the fact that the director can't even handle the content itself, apart from the dry form, so the whole thing becomes one incredibly dragging boredom. Even more ridiculous is the ending with alternating camera filters and light manipulations that are even more "meticulous" than in noir films. And nothing will change that, even its culmination. In conclusion: "Viva la Christopher Walken!" (01.09.2005)