The ways that the different characters are introduced are closely associated with location and are very influential in establishing our instinctive attitude towards them. The locations defined in the opening scenes create a relationship between the characters in the story. At first we get an eerie feeling from the surreal montage of images with no characters to relate to, and when we see a long shot of the mansion it seems dark and forbidding. The reverse zoom to the cosy grandmother’s cottage and the transition from blue and white into colour give the feeling of travelling in perception from the surreal and scary to the comfort of familiarity. The interior of the cottage feels warm and inviting because of the crackling fire and the intimate family relationship. Here Kim is introduced as a grandmother, with her granddaughter dwarfed by the immense bed. The audience instantly feels positively towards them because of their environment and the obvious love between them. Kim’s introduction of Edward’s plight ensures that the audience is sympathetic towards him when he appears later.
The audience is personified by Kim’s granddaughter as she is told the bedtime story. Their role is to be taught an ethical lesson not to judge by appearances or reject difference by being shown an allegory of their society and being made to judge it.
From the cottage window the mansion on the hill looms over the town, setting the relationship between it and suburbia. The aerial shot over the suburbs feels distant because the audience only catch fleeting glimpses of the houses and they see the setting without being part of it. The loneliness of the mansion is portrayed by the shot we see of Edward silently gazing out over suburbia. Only the pallid, neglected, childlike part of him is shown, raising the level of sympathy even more The sudden cut to a bright daytime street scene in the suburbs previously flown over at night properly establishes the town and gives the feeling of looking at normality. The next time the camera approaches the mansion is through Peg in a real car rather than a surreal flight. This gives a sense of revisiting a familiar place. The night shots introduce the three main parts of the film, swooping between each one, and the sudden cut to daytime suburbia signals the beginning of the tale.
Because she is the first person the camera follows in the tale, the audience feels attached to Peg and empathises with her. Peg is a misfit amongst the town women, who are all morally flawed. When she finds Edward all alone and vulnerable, her desire to love and be loved makes her want to take him in and care for him. Peg is naive and has a simplistic outlook. Her way of walking and her gentle childish voice make her seem quite vulnerable, especially when she is walking through the mansion, a tiny spot of jolly pastel lilac in amidst a huge expanse of grey and blue. The horror genre is offset by Peg’s chirpy one-liners. Her vulnerability seems to prepare us for a confrontation between a victim Peg and a menacing Edward, but in fact the relationship is inverted, with Peg having the upper hand. It is symbolic that her reaction to Edward’s scars is to offer him make up because cosmetics are all about hiding blemishes with illusion, just like the deceptive neatness of the town.
When she meets Edward and the audience sees him properly the first thing that strikes us is his drawn look. His eyes are sunken, wide and staring, his lips are small and dark, against his pale face. Were it not for his pained expression and childlike manner, he would be scary. The way that he immediately obeys when Peg tells him to put down his hands and the fact that he doesn’t understand death, only that the inventor “didn’t wake up” adds to his air of innocence.
Interestingly, the town’s men are marginal to the story and are stereotyped as breadwinners who have little to do with the women and children except at social functions. They play minor roles such as the bank manager, dishwasher repairman and Peg’s husband. Even so, their conformity is evident when, later on in the film, they all depart for work at the same time, backing their cars out of their drives in synchronisation and all leaving like clockwork. The main representatives of suburbia and the only ones in the first few scenes, are the housewives; principally three of the four visited by Peg on her rounds: Joyce, Helen and the religious fanatic. These symbolise the three main defects in society that Tim Burton chooses to focus on: immorality, laziness, and bigotry. Their personalities are also reflected by the interior of their houses. The furnishings in Joyce’s house are garish and in-your-face, and she wears clashing colours. In contrast, all the audience sees of the interior of Helen’s house is her drab and faded blue wallpaper, and she wears a faded housecoat and curlers. This reflects her lack of refinement, and that she has looked after neither herself nor her house. The organist’s decor and dress are both a sombre, oppressive deep blood red, even down to the colour of the candles on her windowsill. This gives an impression confirmed later by her negative and condemnatory opinions. Their initial reactions to Edward are different. Joyce is only after what she can get out of him, Helen’s only concern is gossip and rumour, and when the religious woman sees him she cries at once “I see the mark of Satan on him! Not from Heaven but from Hell he came!”
Tim Burton uses audio, visual and structural techniques to set the mood and tone of the opening. The music and sound effects create an atmosphere of mystery throughout the introduction. There is a single musical theme and variations in the opening scenes which subtly change to adapt the mood, building to a climax when Peg reaches the attic of the mansion. The ‘snip-snip’ of scissors herald’s Edward’s presence. The cut to suburbia is accompanied by a brutal silence. The lack of music and the fact that we hear but cannot see children and dogs adds to the uncomfortable, sterile feel.
The quality of their voices is important in adding texture to the characters. The soft voice of Kim is the idealised concept of a grandmother: warm, loving and reassuring. Peg’s voice is also soft, but slightly girlish and makes her appear non-threatening and powerless. Edward’s voice is unbroken and he uses a child’s vocabulary, with little expression.
The way the introduction is structured, its sequence and camera techniques are fundamental to the subsequent story. The first world shown is the mansion, which is shot in a disconnected way with odd angles, patterns and shadows making the audience’s mind race to interpret them. There are clues that the audience is given, for instance the dereliction and machines, that are only fully understood later. The reverse zoom and transition into colour suck the audience into the second world, the present day where what is show is immediately understandable. Swooping back and forth between the mansion and the cottage creates a present-day link between Kim and Edward. The camera defines the two worlds of the mansion and the town by the differences in camera movement and lighting. In the shots inside the mansion the camera dollies and follows the characters, combining with the low-key blue-tinted light, strange machines and clever use of chiaroscuro to give a sense of mystery and entering a forbidden world, which is reminiscent of the surreal title sequence. Sudden cuts between shots using bold, bright colours and high-key lighting characterise the town scenes. There are many close-up and point of view shots that feel claustrophobic and pressurised. Also, when the dishwasher repairman is in Joyce’s house, a low-angle shot is used to make Joyce seem intimidating. Tim Burton lures the audience into thinking like the townspeople, and then forces them to reassess their views with new information. For example, the neat suburb and bright colours they give a sense of familiarity, but the sharp camera movement and the population’s behaviour alienate the audience. The director exposes Edward little by little to augment the impact when he is at last revealed. In the introduction there is a glimpse of the side of his face, then a fleeting shadow and the ‘snip-snip’ sound of scissors when Peg first enters the mansion, so when she finally reaches the attic and Edward emerges, there is a sense of satisfaction at finally being able to see the much-awaited title character properly.
When the camera cuts to the story it follows Peg around like a companion. Her appearance fits in well with the suburban houses, but when she enters the derelict mansion she suddenly becomes an alien in the environment of darkness and mystery. The mansion and the hill on which it stands look scary and intimidating, but what can’t be seen from suburbia is a beautiful garden paradise. This contributes to the theme of the outside appearance being at odds with the inside nature. When Peg approaches the mansion’s gates the transition from neat tarmac cul-de-sac to overgrown track is very sudden, as if driving from light to darkness. When she reaches the gate to the garden the low camera angle makes her look tiny against the looming mansion. While she is walking through the garden, she is made to look as if she is being watched by using framed shots through the topiaries. This builds tension and anticipation.
Tim Burton includes symbolism to illustrate his point. For example, dereliction is commonly used to symbolise a forbidden or dangerous place, cookies represent the inner childhood of Edward. Vice is manifested in the housewives’ personalities and décor and the machines in the mansion symbolise creativity, but the fact that they have fallen into disrepair symbolises the passing of time. The garden represents life and passion.
The mansion illustrates Edward’s difference and isolation. The gothic mansion is stone built with gargoyles all over it. This contrasts with the beautifully bright, well tended gardens surrounding it which shows his purity. When Peg goes through the arched wooden door we see the machines and the bird-like sculpture on the stairs that we recognise from the title sequence, all covered in cobwebs. The darkness and shadows inside the mansion give a sense of the unknown. The cuttings pinned up in the attic fireplace show the inside of Edward’s mind. It points towards what he aspires to do, which is to overcome his perceived disability and become normal.
The audience’s mood is manipulated throughout the opening of the film, taking it through curiosity, security, loneliness, familiarity, ridicule, disgust, sympathy, anticipation and fear. The snippets of information received about Edward before meeting him make him out to be a reclusive bogeyman. Edward emerges from the shadows into the light and the audience see his innocence. When he meets Peg, he is as scared of her she is of him, creating tension between them. The characters’ actions are supported by the mise-en-scène described above.
The message Tim Burton is trying to put across is that beauty and horror are only skin deep, and judging by first impressions does not give an accurate picture. Narrative expectations are at the core of the story of Edward Scissorhands. At all levels, we are repeatedly shown that things are not as they seem at first. We are initially shown little bungalows that are very neat and prim, but then we find out that they do not house neat or prim people, but morally flawed individuals only out for what they can gain. Also, Peg is not just a makeup saleswoman and has a more profound side to her character as well. Edward, despite his outward appearance, is not dangerous or malicious, but has on the inside a child at odds with his shell. The director destabilises the mind of the audience by luring them and setting traps, only to reveal the deception later.
The opening of Edward Scissorhands is effective in establishing the framework of the plot, catching audience’s attention and playing with their emotions. It shows that there is a mystery to solve as to Edward’s enigmatic past. It creates tension and links between the characters. The hybrid genres that Tim Burton uses allow him to express dark concepts without the film becoming heavy. Add to this the beautiful cinematography and the audience is captivated for the rest of the film.