Review: ‘Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’
January 28th, 2008 at 02:37pm Will Pfeifer
I’m not a big fan of musicals, and I’ve never seen the stage version of “Sweeney Todd.” But I liked the movie. I liked it a lot, in fact.
But I want to warn potential viewers of two things:
1. It definitely is a musical. This might sound obvious, but most of the commercials I’ve seen emphasize Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton, but don’t dwell on the fact that this is the same “Sweeney Todd” who carved a bloody path through Broadway years ago, and most — if not all — of the Stephen Sondheim songs remain intact. Don’t be surprised when people start singing right off the bat.
2. It’s bloody. Really, really bloody. Again, this might seem obvious given the R rating and constant prescence of straight razors, but “Sweeney Todd” is a gory little movie. Plenty of throats get slit, and Burton doesn’t skimp on the stage blood. If you’re think it’s going to be “Chicago” or “Dreamgirls,” think again.
That being said, ”Todd” entertained me from beginning to end. The story is simple: A London barber wants revenge against a corrupt judge and, eventually, he gets it. With its smog-shrouded London location and darker-than-dark humor, Burton was the perfect director for the movie. He’s had his good days (”Ed Wood,” “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Edward Scissorhands”) and his bad (um, “Planet of the Apes”), but this is Burton at his best, bringing a surreal intensity to a story that truly deserves it.
Depp is perfect for the title role, and even if he doesn’t have the strongest singing voice in the world, he makes it work wonders here. When downshifts those vocals into a growl, it’s a chilling, thrilling moment. Helena Bonham Carter, looking more ”Fight Club” than ”Howard’s End,” is both creepy and kindly as meat-pie maker Mrs. Lovett. And the rest of the cast — Alan Rickman as the judge, Sacha Baron Cohen (yes, Borat) as a rival barber and Ed Sanders as a weird little kid with a taste for gin — are all fine, too. But the real star here is the grimy, ghastly city of London that Burton and Co. create. It’s a setting that makes you wonder why everyone doesn’t go mad and reach for the nearest straight razor.
“Sweeny Todd” really packs a wallop in the last act, when Todd’s plans finally come to fruition — and horribly, horribly backfire. What I thought was going to be a pleasant little black comedy turns into a wonderfully over the top slice of grand guignol, with Todd dropping his sad, mopey facade and becoming the monster he was always meant to be, bless his dark little heart.
 Anyone else see it? What did you think?
Entry Filed under: New movies
8 Comments Add your own
1. Bob Schaper - Assistant Metro Editor | January 28th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
It’s hard to criticize a movie that is so original, because most Hollywood pictures don’t even try to be fresh and new.
But it’s also hard to praise a movie that is so genuinely unentertaining. This is an airless, bleak little film that is not funny, sad, scary, suspenseful, mysterious, thought-provoking, controversial or anything else. There are a few comedic scenes that I enjoyed, but overall there is little to commend this movie.
And something else. As Movie Man notes, this film is bloody. I will take it one step farther and say this movie GLORIFIES murder. Both main characters are inhuman monsters, yet they are supposed to be sympathetic? This film operates under a moral code that is outside 99.9 percent of the human population.
Oh, and the singing is bad.
Save your $9.
2. Hunt is Spent | January 28th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Movie - I think this guy Schaper wants your job. Be careful.
3. Adam | January 28th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I loved Sweeney Todd. I am also not very big on musicals, especially the the more recent cricically acclaimed ones like Dreamgirls, Moulin Rouge, and Chicago. It is very dark and puts you in another world. Very much like Burton’s earlier works like Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, and Batman. Very moody and atmospheric. I have seen the Broadway version with Angela Lansbury on DVD, and I thought Burton’s take on it was much better. To me Johnny Depp really made the film with his performance of Sweeney Todd. I loved how it was pretty much a black and white film with the only real stand out color being red for the blood. Great costumes and set designs, and the music great too. Helena Bonham Carter was the perfect match for Johnny Depp playing Mrs Lovett. I wish Burton would have gotten a best director Oscar nomination, and the film for best picture. I have the 1936 version with Tod Slaughter playing the title role in my Netflix queue right now, unfortunetley it is a very long wait. A great revenge film.
4. Lara's Web of Lies | January 29th, 2008 at 7:19 am
This Schaper guy is after Movie Man’s job! His review is pretty descriptive,…I will give him that. He might deserve a shot at his own column. But I’d like to see him spend more time trying to improve the paper and less time trying to steal the Movie Man’s job.
5. Bob Schaper - Assistant Metro Editor | January 29th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Lara, thank you for your post. Don’t fear, though. Between correcting the Movie Man and improving the newspaper, I have a few seconds each day to leave insightful comments.
6. Hunt is Spent | January 29th, 2008 at 9:07 am
The Movie Man makes mistakes? Tell us it isn’t so.
7. Jen Sensible | January 29th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Movie - what are your favorite movie musicals? Is Rent one of them? I thought it was awesome. Did you know they made a stage version of “Finding Nemo?” They didn’t do that for the Incredibles. I rest my case.
8. Will Pfeifer | January 29th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Hunt: It isn’t so.
Jen: I haven’t seen RENT, but from the bits and pieces I’ve seen while channel surfing, it doesn’t look like something I’d enjoy. I suppose my favorite musicals are GUYS AND DOLLS (though Sinatra should’ve had the Brando part), ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and the SOUTH PARK movie, which I’d consider a musical. Obviously, aside from GUYS, these aren’t part of the classic musical canon.
I’d heard about the NEMO musical, and though I don’t think it’s a sign a movie is bad if a musical isn’t made of it, I’ll bet NEMO: THE MUSICAL is something my daughter is going to want to see in a few years.
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