10 'True Stories' You Should Take With A Pinch Of Salt

6. From Hell (2001)

From Hell The mystery of Jack the Ripper is fascinating and From Hell does use quite a lot of factual evidence from the real case and doesn't really go overboard with cliches and untruths. The gaps between the murders are shortened when in actual fact the Ripper killings took place over three years, but this is done to give the film a better flow so it is understandable. One thing that is wrong however is the persona of Jack the Ripper; in the film he is described as being cunning and as being a calculating genius but criminology experts over the years have suggested the exact opposite. Many have determined that he was manic, uncontrollable and had no rational thought when killing due to the nature of his murders. Hollywood has to have a romance somewhere so here we have a relationship between Frederick Abberline, who was investigating the murders, and Mary Kelly who in real life was the Ripper's last known victim who he left in a horrible, gruesome state. There's a famous real photograph taken to Mary Kelly's body shortly after they find her which is probably on Wikipedia which is still disturbing 100 years later but it is not included in the film though some other real photographs of other victims are. In the film, Mary Kelly escapes and another prostitute is murdered and everyone believes her remains to be those of Mary Kelly. Sure, it's a happy ending for her in the film but it's not true! She didn't get to live out the rest of her days happy in Ireland in real life. Johnny Depp's Frederick Abberline was in fact not a dope addict and that was quite a weird aspect to add to his character. Then there is the big fib, Jack the Ripper was never caught, there was no cover up, it wasn't a member of the Royal family and it is unlikely he was a part of the establishment at all, simply because it would be hard to hide such a manic personality in such a lifestyle. From Hell is actually quite an entertaining film, just don't believe everything it says. If you like this film you may like the British TV show Ripper Street which is almost finished with its first season.
 
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Contributor

19 year old studying journalism. Huge fan of film and writer of film reviews.