In the autumn of 1888, in London’s sordid Whitechapel district, one name evoked terror and trepidation1 more than any other: “Jack the Ripper”. Never identified, Jack the Ripper was a man who, over a four-month period, was responsible for the deaths and mutilation of five women whose destitute lives had led them into prostitution.

Striking only at night, with the handywork and precision of a highly-skilled surgeon, this notorious killer tore at the fabric of London society. Fear and panic spread through communities with every newly discovered body. The killer was never caught. On a trail of death and dismemberment,2 the only thing left alive was the mystery surrounding his identity.

Now, more than a century later, Jack is back as the subject of a new movie starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham. In this fictionalized account of the infamous slayings, Depp plays Fred Abberline, opium abuser, brooding widower, and inspector, on the Ripper case. Graham plays Mary Kelly, the ravishing lady-of-the-night who enraptures the morose3 detective. She drives him to risk everything to expose the conspiracy and corruption that cloak her would-be killer.

The film retells the story in all its graphic glory. Its dark imagery and forboding tone pervasively detail the struggle to survive not only Jack the Ripper, but also the degradation and hellish squalor4 of 19th-century London.

By the time he was 13, Johnny Depp was smoking and drinking heavily, abusing drugs, had been arrested for petty theft and vandalism,5 and had lost his virginity. From there, Depp took what would seem to be his destined path into rock and roll. He emerged as a competent guitarist and garage rocker with his band, The Kids, once supporting Iggy Pop, a well-known icon of self-abuse.

By the age of 22, Depp had married and divorced make-up artist Lori Ann Allison. Allison played a pivotal6 role in Depp’s success by encouraging him to take up acting and introducing him to the now hugely successful Nicolas Cage. Through Cage, Depp reluctantly accepted his first feature-film role. He played the hunky boyfriend devoured7 by a killer bed in “A Nightmare on Elm Street”.

As Depp became more serious about his acting, more and more movie roles were cast his way. He only took parts that focused on his acting ability rather than his looks. Eventually, Depp gained respect with critically acclaimed performances in movies such as “Edward Scissorhands”, ”What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”, ”Donnie Brasco”, ”Sleepy Hollow”, and “Chocolat”.

After a roller-coaster ride of failed romances that were well-publicized in the United States, Depp has finally found stability with singer/actress Vanessa Paradis in France. He is currently promoting “From Hell” while experiencing the joys and virtues8 of parenthood.

1. trepidation n. 戰(zhàn)栗，驚惶

2. dismemberment n. 肢解

3. morose a. 憂郁的

4. squalor n. 悲慘

5. vandalism n. 蓄意破壞

6. pivotal a. 樞紐的，重要的

7. devour v. 吞吃，吞沒(méi)

8. virtue n. 美德

1888年的秋天，在倫敦污穢不堪的白教堂區(qū)，一個(gè)名字引起了人們空前的恐怖和驚惶，這個(gè)名字就是——?dú)⑷丝窠芸恕⑷丝窠芸说纳矸菔冀K是一個(gè)謎，他涉嫌在四個(gè)月內(nèi)殺害和肢解五名因生活窮困而被迫賣(mài)淫的女子。

這位聲名狼藉的殺人狂只在夜晚出沒(méi)作案，用他如技術(shù)高超的外科醫(yī)生般的巧手和精確度，損壞了倫敦的社會(huì)結(jié)構(gòu)。隨著尸體一具接一具被發(fā)現(xiàn)，恐懼與驚慌在人群中擴(kuò)散蔓延。而這名殺人狂卻始終未被抓獲。在一連串的分尸命案當(dāng)中，留給人們的唯有籠罩著他身分的謎團(tuán)。

現(xiàn)在，一個(gè)多世紀(jì)以后，杰克作為一部新片的主題又回來(lái)了！新片由約翰尼·戴普和希瑟·格雷厄姆領(lǐng)銜主演。在這部由臭名昭著的殺人狂的故事改編而成的影片中，戴普飾演佛雷德·艾柏琳：一名吸食鴉片、常陷入沉思的鰥夫，也是負(fù)責(zé)殺人狂一案的檢察官。格雷厄姆則飾演瑪莉·凱麗：一名令這位郁郁寡歡的警探神魂顛倒的風(fēng)情萬(wàn)種的“夜生活女子”。她使他不顧一切要揭開(kāi)所有的陰謀與腐敗，揪出隱匿其中想謀殺她的兇手。

這部電影活靈活現(xiàn)地重現(xiàn)了殺人狂故事中的所有場(chǎng)面。片中幽暗的影像和預(yù)言式的風(fēng)格，詳細(xì)深入地描述了人們?cè)跉⑷丝窠芸说哪д葡拢?9世紀(jì)倫敦墮落和地獄般的悲慘景況下掙扎求生。

十三歲的時(shí)候，約翰尼·戴普就開(kāi)始放肆地抽煙、酗酒、吸毒，還曾因輕微的盜竊罪和蓄意破壞罪而遭到逮捕，也失去了他的童貞。從此，戴普就走上了這條似乎命中注定的路，進(jìn)入搖滾樂(lè)界。他成為“The Kids”樂(lè)隊(duì)中出色的吉他手和“garage”（注）搖滾樂(lè)手，該樂(lè)隊(duì)曾替頹廢派的知名偶像Iggy Pop做過(guò)暖場(chǎng)演出。

二十二歲時(shí)他跟化妝師洛里安·阿利森結(jié)婚后又分手。阿利森在戴普的成功之路上扮演了非常關(guān)鍵的角色，她鼓勵(lì)他從事表演事業(yè)，并把他引薦給現(xiàn)在事業(yè)如日中天的尼古拉斯·凱奇。在凱奇的安排下，戴普極不情愿地接演了他的首部電影故事片。他在《半夜鬼上床》一片中扮演女主角的英俊男友，被“殺人鬼床”吞吃了。

戴普對(duì)待他的表演事業(yè)越認(rèn)真，就越是按自己的喜好接演角色。他只參與能突出演技而不是外貌的演出。后來(lái)，戴普在《剪刀手愛(ài)德華》、《戀戀情深》、《驚天爆》、《鬼上門(mén)》和《濃情巧克力》等影片中的表現(xiàn)獲得了影評(píng)們的贊譽(yù)，也贏得了影壇的尊敬。

在經(jīng)歷了幾場(chǎng)如坐云霄飛車(chē)般大起大落、并且被美國(guó)媒體大肆渲染的失敗的戀情以后，戴普終于在法國(guó)影歌雙棲明星凡妮莎·帕拉迪斯身上找到了穩(wěn)定的愛(ài)情。現(xiàn)在，他正一邊為《地獄追魂貼》作宣傳，一便享受著天倫之樂(lè)。

（注：garage是源于punk的一種搖滾樂(lè)類型）