In this bizarre Burton biopic, Depp plays Ed Wood, purveyor of celluloid mediocrity. The infamous creator of the worst films of all time, including Plan 9 From Outer Space, Wood's cinema demonstrated a tacky and absolute lack of decency and taste.

The film thematically explores the basic fear of anyone believing himself to be a creative artiste. Wood believed, deludedly, in his warped ideas and thought he was making high art.

But he failed miserably, even as he did all his morals commanded him to: he believed in himself, his dream; worked hard and took groundbreaking initiative; he was an entrepreneur. But the darkly comic tale is tragic at heart: you can try like hell and manage merely to get there.

While overshadowed by Martin Landau's compelling – and Academy Award winning – portrayal of Bela Lugosi, Johnny more than held his own in this stunning film, and critics given to hindsight often rate this as the actor's finest performance.