Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Music, Murder, and Mischief

Most of Tim Burton's movies are a lot of fun to watch and amazing to look at. However, a lot of the times the narratives tend to be less than compelling and even though they were amazing to look at, everything else fades from memory quite quickly. Notably exceptions being "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Ed Wood". Now comes, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" which is the most delicious work (pun intended) Burton has delivered in his twenty plus year as a director.

To me "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" plays out like an evil version of one of those Disney animated musical from the early nineties. Those movies seemed to be composed of two young lovers from different worlds who have to go to impossible ends to be with each other, and the girl often has a overbearing yet loving father, and there is always a villain to make sure the girl and boy are kept apart. In this story the villain interferes with the girls life when she is a mere infant.

As the movie opens "Sweeney Todd(played flawlessly by Johnny Depp), formerly Benjamin Barker is returning to London after fifteen years of exile after being brought up on a false charge. The audience quickly learns that Benjamin Barker had a wife named Lucy who he was madly in love with, but so was the unscrupulous Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) who has Barker sent away so he can take the wife as his own. After many rejections by the woman, the Judge takes Mrs. Barker by force, driving her mad. And to make things even better for the family the Judge Turpin adopts Barker's daughter Johanna to raise as his own, and imprison her as she blossoms into womanhood with the intent of marrying her.

Shortly after returning to London Todd returns to his home, which is above a shopped own by Helena Boham-Carter-Burton's Mrs. Lovett, who happens to sell the worst meat pies in London. Mrs. Lovett realizes right away that Sweeney Todd is really Benjamin Barker and takes an immediate liking to him. In the meantime Todd's imprisoned daughter, Johanna, spies a sailor (the same sailor who delivers Todd to London) and the two fall instantly in love.

Now in most Disney animated movies the action is centered on the young lovers while the adults are put in the background. Most of the action here is on Sweeney Todd, a moping monster whose only purpose in life is to have revenge for the wrongs done to him.

This movie is interesting in many ways, namely the relationship between Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett. It's obviously she will do anything to win his affection. However, he is indifferent to her unless she is able to help him get his revenge. There are several scenes in which Todd speaks to Mrs. Lovett as if she is just a distraction. Despite his bitter rage and nastiness Mrs. Lovett still dreams of moving to the sea and getting married to Mr. Todd. One of the best scenes in the movie is when it seems as if Todd is about to open up to Mrs. Lovett and then a clue about how to get his revenge on the judge comes his way, and she is instantly forgotten.

Judge Turpin has to be the nastiest villain in all of Tim Burton's movies. And these are villains that include the Joker, the Penguin, blood thirsty Martians, and the boogie man. This guy not only destroys a family on the whim of his own lust, he intends to marry the daughter. The fact that the daughter falls for the young sailor puts her in a terrible situation.

And there this is Mrs. Lovett. Here is a character with the morals of a half starved alley cat. She thinks murder is inexcusable unless it is justified (A character tries to bribe Sweeney Todd) or if it can be to her benefit (Using the bodies of victims to boost her pie selling business). Part of the greatness of her role is how nonchalantly she reacts to the murders of several people as long as she stands to gain by them.

As great as the story is I can honestly stay Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter can both hold their own as singers. Alan Rickman, great actor, but not so much. The atmosphere of the sets also contribute to the melancholy feel of this movies. Tim Burton has made violent, bloody movies before but they always tended to have an upbeat tone. As I said, it reminded me if an evil Disney movie. After seeing "Beauty and the Beast" I left the theater humming the songs. After this one I walked out feeling like I just had attended a funeral. Still, this is an elegant movie and Burton's best work.

Final note...the blu ray quality is very good, but not great.
November 10, 2008

Superb Performances By An All Star Cast

A wonderful dark comedy with an amazing musical score and stellar performances by Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman and most of all the talented Helena Bonham Carter who assumes the role of Mrs. Lovett with the ease of slipping into a pair of slacks. November 9, 2008

TIM BURTON KILLS ANOTHER CLASSIC!!!!

To my amazement, when the film was over, people in the movie theater stood up and said "I liked it." Meanwhile, I'm thinking, "Of course you liked it, it's one of the finest musicals ever written" But I believe that the love people give this film is only due to Sondheim's genius source material which Burton did not add anything to. Burton could only throw his wannabe Edward Gorey style at it, play up the blood, and tell the actors to perform the whole thing without subtext. This musical is inherently FUNNY. Hello? Where was the humor? This was Depp's least funny role in a musical that SHOULD be darkly HILARIOUS? Explain that!!! And for those people who think a tragedy can't be funny look at Hamlet - that show has tons of humor and is arguably the finest work in western drama. Laughter adds dimension and makes the sad parts sadder. An overabundance of blood does not make up for cutting out the brilliant irony and swelling emotional power of the musical. If it was blood he wanted, Burton should have directed a re-make of Evil Dead. Though he no doubt would have ruined that one too.

Also more evidence of Burton's lack of respect for the musical is the fact that he cast ACTORS WHO CAN'T SING THEIR PARTS. Helena Bonham-Carter was the worst offender and literally butchered one of the greatest female characters of all time. Anything I felt for the characters was provoked by Sondheim's score. The director and the actors brought nothing. SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU TIM! November 5, 2008

How 'bout a Shave?

One of the best films of 2007, next to Pirates 3, Sweeney delivers a supurb cast with brilliant songs and numbers. The dark humour mixed with the overall grusomeness of the story works in burton's favour. Before I go on with the review i would like to say that it is an EXTREMELY violent movie, with emphisis on EXTREMELY. This film is probably not suitibale to children under 10. Anyway, it is one of the best films I've ever seen. The story plays out like a gothic fairy-tale, with deep mistones (The movie is practically black and white, with massive amounts of red).

Sweeney Todd is of course a bad guy, but we are allowed to pitty him, and we're ment to be on his and Mrs. Lovet's side. Both Bonham Carter, and Depp deliver astounding performances as actors and vocalists. The supporting cast is well done also. Although the man from "There Will be Blood" won best actor, Depp should have taken it. November 2, 2008

"For a Moment There, I Thought You'd Lost Your Marbles..."

Here it is Halloween, and it seems like a good time to write a review for Tim Burton's film, "Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". This is Burton's cinematic adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's ghoulishly, over-the-top, classic Broadway musical of murder and revenge with a smile.

The story takes place in grim, urban, Victorian-era London. Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), a skilled barber by trade, has come back to town under the new identity of 'Sweeny Todd'. For fifteen years Todd/Barker had been falsely imprisoned on trumped-up charges. This had been brought about by the self-rightious, Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who had coveted, Todd's young, pretty wife, Lucy, for himself. Todd returns home only to find out his wife has supposably died of self-poisoning and his teenage daughter, Johanna (Jayne Wisener) is now the ward of the lascivious, Judge. Todd, with the help of landlady/pie maker, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), obsessively follows through on a bloody, murderous plan to get his revenge on all those he feels "deserve to die" and ultimately get Judge Turpin into the barber's chair "for the closest shave of his life".

Sounds like black stuff, right? Well yeah, it is...black as night. But it is written as a tragedy, that has both a wink and and a small smile and a truely hummable, toe tappin' soundtrack. In the end its sort of like a perverse tribute to our culture's love of family. Its a musical for the 'Goth Kids'. But if your not into copious amounts of blood being spilled with a straight razor, while people are singing, then this isn't the film for you. For everyone else with a morbid, Charles Adams sense of humor, this movie is fantastic! Its emotionally moving, funny and entertaining! Highly recommended!

October 31, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...