Sweeney Todd (2007)

Title: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Country: US.
Year: 2007.
Date of Viewing: 1/1/08.
Director: Tim Burton.
Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen.

From the moment the earth-shattering pipe organs fill your ears as the DreamWorks logo appears, to a riveting Shakespearean ending, Sweeney Todd is a delight throughout. Based off the popular Stephen Sondheim musical starring George Hearn and Angela Lansbury, director Burton leaves his mark on a musical newcomers will enjoy just as much as die-hard Sweeney fans.

The plot starts off with an estranged Sweeney (Depp) returning home to London with a young sailor, Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower). Todd is desperate for revenge after being wrongfully imprisoned by an evil judge (Rickman) that he escapes and sets back to London to “right his wrongs.” When he meets up with a former meat-pie acquaintance, Mrs. Lovett (Carter), he reopens his barbershop and formulates a way to seek revenge on his archnemesis. What follows next includes multiple deaths, bloody razors and a creative solution to disposing of bodies and helping out Mrs. Lovett’s meat pie business at the same time...hopefully it’s easy to fill in the blanks here.

The unconventional musical flourishes spectacularly on film, much in part to the underrated screenplay by John Logan which still expertly captures the feel of the stage production in a shorter amount of time. Many Sweeney-ites may moan about the cutting of many songs from the show, namely the show’s titular ballad that only appears in the opening credits and instrumental scores throughout. Fortunately, the exclusion isn’t for naught and the overall feel is still fine…well mostly fine. The overall cut of ALL ensemble singing is noticeable, especially in songs like “God That’s Good!”... a sequence normally 5 – 10 minutes long shrinked to a minute and thirty seconds. However glaring the song omissions are, the overall message and plot are still present and are still handled quite nicely. Burton does one of his best directorial works today, becoming my third favorite of his behind 1990’s Edward Scissorhands and 2003’s Big Fish.

The acting is very, very nice. Although not all the singers match up to the power of the Broadway actors (which is naturally a given), the actors still emote powerfully WHILE they’re singing – a concept that some other movie musicals *coughcoughDreamgirls* didn’t manage to grasp firmly enough. Depp is utterly fantastic and doesn’t ever once allude to his Scissorhand pout or Jack Sparrow smarmy-ness…it’s possibly his best performance to date. Carter holds her own and has amazing character depth, but takes the most pitfalls during her musical numbers. The supporting cast is just great: Rickman is appropriately slimy as the Judge, Spall is equally slimy in his role as the Beadle, the Judge’s right hand man. Cohen is also a surprise as Pirelli, Sweeney’s rival. He adds much needed comedic relief to the film. Ed Sanders plays Toby, a small little boy who blindly assists Lovett in her pie business and Laura Michelle Kelly is delightful as a(n underused) Beggar Woman whose role has more than meets the eye to it. The only people I had a problem with was Johanna (Jayne Wisener) who underacts and Campbell who literally keeps the same expression on his face through all two hours of the movie. Regardless, these two roles always seem a little out of place in the main plotline of Sweeney and don’t wreck the film at all.



The technicals are to die for (ahaha, get it? Die for?) in the film. Dariusz Wolski’s cinematography is lovely, especially when it’s partnered with Dante Ferretti’s astonishing art direction. The dark color palette works wonders, especially when the blood enters in and stands out even more contrasted against the dark backgrounds. A particularly beautiful scene is the number “Not While I’m Around” that Toby and Lovett sing in a parlor – the grainy texture combined with the color scheme almost gives you the impression that you’re watching an early talkie film from the 20’s. Burton costume designer Colleen Atwood once again astonishes, particularly in a song “By the Sea” with fantastic petticoats and puffy dresses. The sound and makeup effects are all also fantastic. Highly expect wins for Ferretti, Atwood, and the makeup department come Oscar season.

Overall, Sweeney had a few miniscule flaws, but they didn’t distract from the morbid beauty of the film. This is one film that will leave a huge impression on you, and is worth every penny you pay for the admission. You’ll be DYING to see it. A-ha-hahaha...yeah.




Current Wins and Nominations:

Best Picture**
Best Director, Tim Burton**
Best Actor, Johnny Depp**
Best Actress, Helena Bonham Carter
Best Supporting Actor, Alan Rickman
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction**
Best Costume Design**
Best Sound, Mixing and Editing
Best Makeup**
Best Ensemble Cast