From Hell

There have been some bad films made from the graphic novels of Alan Moore, From Hell is not one of them (though he thoroughly disavowed it). A fictional recreation of the Jack the Ripper case, directed by The Hughes Brothers, it's stylish, suspenseful, and though its conclusion about the identity of the Ripper is probably false, it has all the details right.

The greatest deviation from the real story is the depiction of Inspector Frederick Abberline, the lead policeman on the case. Here is played as an opium fiend by Johnny Depp, who also solves crimes by visions (this is perhaps incorporating the character of Robert James Lees, the psychic who was played by Donald Sutherland in Murder By Decree). To satisfy the Hollywood demands for a romance, Depp is in love with Mary Kelly (Heather Graham), who was the Ripper's last victim, but is here given a second chance at life.

As with Murder By Decree, we are led to believe that the Ripper murders are intended to keep secret the Duke of Clarence's secret marriage and child by Annie Crook. In Murder By Decree she was a maid, but here she is a Whitechapel prostitute, and the five victims are her friends who know the truth. Moore, in his book, also makes several connections with the Freemasons (this is also in Murder By Decree), including the juicy coincidence that one of the girls was killed in Mitre Square, and that the "Juwes" included in the Gholston Street graffito may not have been a reference to Jews, but instead to the betrayers of the Freemason's founder.

All that is fun stuff, and the Hughes brothers, along with their designers, create a rich Victorian London.

I saw this when it first came out in 2001 and it holds up well.