Tim Burton’s 1999 film Sleepy Hollow occurs in 1799 in a small community terrorized by a headless Hessian horseman who arises from the grave and decapitates the townspeople. Lacking the resources to solve the case on their own, the town leaders send for help – in this case, an eccentric New York City constable who gets sent to Sleepy Hollow as a punishment for his scientific views.
A meticulous researcher who designs his own investigative tools, Constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) has few admirers among his big city peers. While on assignment in Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod must confront his fears of the supernatural, i.e., his own childhood traumas that inspired his blind belief in science. Compounding his dilemma is the lovely Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), the enigmatic daughter of one of the town leaders, who catches Ichabod’s attention despite her affinity for witchcraft.
Ichabod's Past is Revealed
Through a series of three dream sequences, Ichabod’s past is revealed. These dreams appear in brief fragments with each new sequence revealing more information about his past. We learn that his mother was murdered as a suspected witch. Because of this, he developed an aversion to everything unscientific that cannot be tested or proven by scientific analysis.
Ichabod’s dreams contrast sharply with the drab washed-out scenery of Sleepy Hollow. His bright, colorful dreams present an idealized version of his mother and a traumatic version of her persecution, with both scenes presented as a child’s remembrances without the adult filter. Because of this, it’s not entirely clear how much of the dreams are actual flashbacks to what occurred or stylized versions of what he thinks he remembers.
Flashbacks and Dream Sequences
Although Ichabod never reveals his dreams to the residents of Sleepy Hollow, the audience sees them in order to better understand his current rejection of anything beyond scientific explanation. It’s estimated by sleep scientists that humans spend one-third of their lives sleeping, with much of that time spent dreaming, a time for processing experiences from today and from long ago. By sharing Ichabod’s dreams with us, Burton allows us to process right along with the dreamer regarding how the horrific events in recent days trigger feelings deep inside him.
The audience sees Ichabod close his eyes (because he’s fallen asleep or unconscious), but his dreams more accurately reflect a conscious flashback of a previous experience. His three dreams tell a chronological story about his childhood, which logically would be far easier to conjure when awake and conscious (while having a flashback) than while asleep and unconscious. Even so, for cinematic effect, these dreams beautifully and succinctly show why Ichabod feels such turmoil over the murder cases and his attraction to Katrina. In some ways, Katrina represents a younger version of his mysterious mother whom he loved very much.
As in Burton’s science fiction love story Edward Scissorhands where Edward has waking flashbacks to painful experiences of the past, Ichabod has the same kind of flashbacks while he’s asleep. Similar flashbacks and dreams appear in Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and Willy Wonka, among other films by the quirky director. Whether awake or asleep, however, these dreams provide potent snapshots of the characters’ inner turmoil.
For more information about dream sequences in movies, read Dream Images in Paprika.
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