...that this is Burton's best work as a director to date. He's never handled material so complicated before... this is a step forward from the "gothic fairy tale about a misfit" that he normally does. It's still gothic, and it's still about misfits... but the fairy tale aspect is not simplified whatsoever or handled with kid gloves, it's given every ounce of respect the material deserves. And it ends in a VERY bleak way.

It's a shame the Academy isn't going to end up recognizing just how unbelievable the direction is in this film, and how hard this must have been to direct, and how he utterly and completely nailed it (or rather, it's a shame this film is coming out in a year with so many good American films).