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Review by David DiMichele

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The only element that's synonymous with both Sweeney Todd and its Christmas holiday release date is the color red. Red as in the color of blood that squirts impressionistically out of the necks of the helpless victims,  courtesy of Sweeney himself. Adapted from the Broadway musical hit that Stephen Sondheim made famous, it’s only fitting that  the most creative director we have today, Tim Burton, is combined with this dark, romantic, comedic and yet terrifying script. He must’ve been licking his chops when he got his paws on Sondheim’s musical. And I'm glad he did. The two go together perfectly. This isn’t like the stage version. Burton’s darkly creative and comedic direction proves a perfect fit for Sondheim’s melodic, blood-gushing musical.

All of Burton’s movies are set in fantasy worlds - places that we yearn to see in real life. From Beetlejuice to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, his worlds are unique and inviting. And for the most part, the same goes for the world of Sweeney Todd. A little village with backstreets and tiny shops in London looks enchanting - but it is not inviting. Instead, Burton makes us feel uneasy and aware that this world isn’t for the lighthearted. This world doesn’t have heroes. Our only hope lies with a man who is spoiled by a desire for vengeance.

Burton turns to the people he really loves and knows best: his wife Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp (his previous Burton films include Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate, Sleepy Hollow, etc.). This trio combine to make Sweeney Todd one of the best films of the year. Each one does their very own singing. “Johanna”, “Pretty Woman”, and “Epiphany” are amongst the stellar songs. Every scene is deeply satisfying.

Johnny Depp is definitely the only man suitable for this role. Like other Burton films, he transforms himself into characters that we can only dream of. Here, Depp’s Todd is ghastly and yet still romantic and funny. His voice is perfect for the role: not too loud, not too soft. The torture and pain his character has been through shows in his voice. We expect him to explode at any given time, but Depp keeps us waiting and wanting.

I never thought I’d see another movie character as ruthless as Anton Chigurh, the psychopathic killer from No Country for Old Men. But Johnny Depp shows intense range as Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd, a barber seeking revenge on the man who dismantled his perfect family life. His family was the only thing that was true and nice in this 19th century London.

The story goes that the town judge (Alan Rickman) laid eyes on Benjamin Barker's blonde wife and sweet baby girl, and decided he wanted them. Laying false accusations against Benjamin so that he is sent to jail in Australia, the judge and his sidekick (Timothy Spall) laugh and never think of him again. Fifteen years pass until Barkman, fresh from breaking out of jail, comes riding in on a ship to only find that his daughter is now a teenager being held prisoner by the Judge. She is locked in a room until she has to marry him.

Barkman is now totally different and totally evil. His appearance is darker than ever despite his pale skin and there are evil doings on the mind of the man who now goes by the name of Sweeney, Sweeney Todd. He returns to his old barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s horrible Pie Shop and he finds out what the judge did to his wife. Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who looks just like Todd, tells him all she knows and when she finally realizes that this man is Benjamin Barkman, she takes him to his shop and gives him his friends: five straight razors. He sets up his shop again and lets people know he’s back in business.

It begins with Todd only looking for the Judge in order to slice him up, but he gradually turns against the rest of the vile and sick town. Instead of a regular barber chair, Todd creates a contraption that enables him, after slicing helpless victims throats, to step on a control which dumps the bodies from his chair all the way down to the basement. It's here that Mrs. Lovett gathers the bodies to make her best and most popular creation yet: meat pies from human corpses. It’s only fitting that this town finds themselves eating their own population. The two become obsessed: Mrs. Lovett with the wealth that she never had and also with her hopes of marrying Todd, and Todd with the thrill of killing while singing sweetly seductive songs.

Notice the flashback scene showing Benjamin being ripped from his family. It’s shot in bright color that reminds us that this town was happy at one point. When he arrives back to London, singing a vulgar song about it, it’s become dreary and bleak. The brightest color you’ll find is the color of blood. Greys and blacks take the place of yellows and blues. When Burton does decide to show us daytime, it looks weird and seems to belong to the dark world we're now in. By this point we're so enthralled by that dark world that we don't know anything else. This is what really makes the movie a nightmare, along with the ending. People are making a big deal about Atonement’s ending, but in my opinion Sweeney Todd’s ending is far more gut-wrenching. Sweeney Todd is a rare piece of cinema that creates a world full of greed, love, vengeance, rivalries, obsession, evil, delicious pies and did I say it’s all wrapped up in a musical? I didn’t want this movie to end.

Film Rating: **** out of ****

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Comments (2)

Great review!

Oh this is a good one! I am really looking forward to this film. Being a big fan of the duo of Burton and Depp, there is nothing better to watch during the Holidays than this movie!

and you hit the target (again) with this:

Red in the color of blood that squirts impressionistically out from the necks of helpless victims by ways of Sweeney himself.

I just can't wait!

jedmed , December 23, 2007

all genres!!!

this movie has it all guys....funny, scary, romantic, grotesque and sad!~!!!! check this out

dimichele305 , December 23, 2007

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