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Tim Burton has a way with directing that places him in a class all his own. The little things he adds put his signature all over a project. If you even consider bringing the stage musical of Sweeney Todd to the big screen, and want it to work, there is no better man for the task. Burton's sense of
"macabre as art" is necessary to elevate what would be a simple blood bath with singing, into an artistic and, well, enjoyable movie experience. Add to
the mix his two favorite ingredients, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter and you have the recipe for perfection. But as they say, the proof is in the
pudding or in this case the meat pie. So does it serve up a must see film for the Holidays? Yes, though many will decline seconds. 

Sweeney Todd (Depp) is a man preoccupied with revenge. When he returns to London to seek out the people who tore his family apart, his bitterness
turns him into a heartless killer. A barber by trade he sets up shop over Mrs. Lovette's (Helena Bonham Carter) meat pie shop where the two twisted
minds start a grotesque business venture while Todd plots his revenge. Like any unforgiveness left unchecked Todd's festers until he is totally consumed
with vengeance. It controls him and manipulates his every action. Yet all of this happens while everyone is singing. Go figure. 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is based on the Broadway musical and stays true to the genre. Ninety percent of all the dialogue
comes in the form of a song. This may hinder many from enjoying another classic from Burton. But the songs and performances are what make Sweeney Todd stand out from other typical slasher stories. There is something about the music and the singing that make it bearable. Todd is a warped individual and many times words sung evoke more emotion than when simply spoken. In conjunction, the spurting blood becomes part of the dance. It adds flavor and color to the mix. 

Depp has proven himself through out his career as a character actor who creates personable roles.  Like Burton, Depp has a way of endearing you to
the most detestable persons. Here he has to do that while singing. And he pulls it off. At first it was a little odd. It took me a few scenes to warm
up to the crooning Depp. But once I knew he was serious I took him serious and was onboard the rest of the way through. Even better was Helena Bonham. Carter was amazing and combines vocal depth with comfortable character creation. You forget she is singing as her movements and delivery is smooth and fluid. She isn't acting and then singing. It is seamless in its transitions. The two combine to make the musical to movie transformation
succeed. Not an easy task. 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is rated R for graphic bloody violence. All three of those words are prominent in this film. We aren't
talking Hairspray here. This film is dark and sinister and graphic. The imagery is as powerful as the music and lyrics. It is an important element to the feel of the film. This is not one for the squeamish. Other than that the film is tame on all fronts. You will find no adult language save for a couple of very mild expletives. Fans of Depp will enjoy this new endeavor and Burton followers will not walk away feeling slighted. The only issue you have to deal with is the singing. If you hate musicals then you will not enjoy this. You can't overlook the singing. You can't put it aside and rely on the remaining parts to sustain you. 

As much as I enjoyed this film and recommend it for fans of the Broadway version or musicals in general, I am not sure I would see it again. I loved
every moment of the experience and I may change my mind later but for now I am satisfied with the single sampling.  I give Todd 4 out of 5 thumb nails.
 

Matt Mungle (12/22/07)

Matt is a member of the North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) and co-hosts a weekly radio feature, The Mungles on Movies, with his wife Cindy.
For additional reviews, interview clips and great DVD giveaways, visit the website www.mungleshow.com

Review copyright 2007 Mungleshow Productions. Used by Permission.

How to become a vegetarian in two hours? Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street will encourage you. If you thought the musical, “Phantom of the Opera” had violence, think twice, that was just the beginning. Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler put together a musical based on the life of an 18th century barber who decided to kill his customers. Well, perhaps, that isn’t unusual after all, but in this musical---and with the help of a woman baker---the bodies were turned into meat pies and sold to the unsuspecting public. Shades of Chianti and fava beans.
 
Johnny Depp (Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd) and Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Lovett) are the stars of this film. Shades of the Caribbean, but can either of them sing? Depp was with a band in his early days as an entertainer, so manages the speaking/singing of the Todd role well. He’s not quite on pitch, but then the character is supposed to be a maniac, so it may not be polite to disagree. Helena Bonham Carter worked with a vocal coach and ends up with a clear, light soprano that is right on pitch. Pleasant surprise. Sacha Baron Cohen even displays a passable baritone in the role of a rival barber. In fact, Cohen does a rather good job and seems to be seeking to remove himself from the “Borat” days. The songs that people remember from any production of “Sweeney Todd” are “Pretty Women” and “Not While I'm Around,” which Barbra Streisand did elegantly on a past album.
 
Sweeney Todd shows us that a young barber named Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) is happily married to Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly) and they have a baby daughter, Joanna. Lucy is exceptionally beautiful and duly noticed by the nefarious Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) and his aide, Beadle (Timothy Spall). Soon, Barker is in prison and sentenced to deportation to Australia, while Lucy drinks poison. The judge becomes the guardian for Joanna. Years pass, Joanna (now played by Jayne Wisener) is so guarded by the judge, who wants her for himself, that she seeks to leave with the help of a young sailor, Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower.) At the same time, Todd appears on the scene, with a new name, new look (sort of a “Bride of Frankenstein” hair style) and a new lease on life---he’s out for revenge with a capital “R.”
 
With the help of Mrs. Lovett, who owns the worst pie shop in Europe (i.e. cockroach heaven), Todd opens a barber shop and they figure out a way to take care of Todd’s revenge while adding a new ingredient to Mrs. Lovett’s pies. So, we have Sweeney killing his way toward the judge, Joanna trying to escape with Anthony, and Mrs. Lovett adding a kitchen helper, an orphan named Toby (Edward Sanders), who used to work with Cohen. All this against a backdrop of greasy, gray and black London, with the only colors being red blood and an occasional scene away from Todd. Tim Burton brings his experiences with “Sleepy Hollow” and “Edward Scissorhands” into play here with sharp objects, loss of color for effect, Johnny Depp and violence.
 
The story flows as it would on a stage and the backdrops are like stage settings. It’s the actors you watch. The only things that take away from this are Mrs. Lovett’s oven (a second cousin to the one in “The Shining”) and Todd’s barber razors which seem to quiver like the tentacles on Alfred Molina in “Spider-Man 2.” When Todd is re-united with his silver-handled set, he holds one up and says, “Now my arm is complete.” It is this scene and others that follow, when I realized that Johnny Depp was using the moves of a matador for his role, including the barber’s cape as a cloak. The bull is the victim in the stylized barber chair, and Depp walks around the chair like a matador with a banderillero in his hand. He strikes, with a long arm movement---like a matador---and the deed is done. Swirl off the cape and wait for the next one. Nicely choreographed.
 
I found the film, Sweeney Todd to be compelling and though you can figure out what is coming, you are along for the dark-humored ride. Depp has the hollowed-eye madness look and his acting is somewhat subdued, which fits the film. Leave swirls of emotion to Carter, Spall, Rickman and the others, we know that eventually the threads lead back to Todd. That’s where the color red begins. This film is rated R for a reason. One wonders what challenge Tim Burton would offer Johnny Depp next?
 
Copyright 2008 Marie Asner  1/1/2008