Today’s post begins with a fractal called Twisted Quad. I picked it because it had the right “feel” for my review of Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The “blade” like bars, the twisty parts of the image and the “black and white” color palette all enhance the general feel I got from the movie.-
I went in to see Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street with some trepidation: I’m not a fan of “horror” (be it fiction or movies) and I don’t much care for Stephen Sondheim. I passed on the opportunity to see it on stage for just those reasons. In ways though it may have been a good thing since I went in to the show with no preconceived notions (or at least not very many!)
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Director (and perennial oddball ) Tim Burton (who has created such diverse twisted oddities as The Corpse Bride and Ed Wood) has transformed “Sweeny” from a sprawling epic into something of a chamber piece. (I’m not sure anyone else could have realized the movie to the perfection Burton pulled off here.) Gone (but not missed) are the choruses that help set the scenes and move the action along. Instead, we get an “up close and personal” (sometimes even claustrophobic) look into the story. The movie is shot with toned-down, almost monochromatic, colors: only the blood shines bright scarlet and it helps to enhance the sad, decrepit aspects of the story. Every aspect of the movie is almost, dare I say it? note perfect--the sets, the acting, even the singing.
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Johnny Depp--fresh from the third “Pirates of the Caribbean” film doesn’t have much of a singing voice but he completely inhabits the title role and gives a performance which is completely believable and quite chilling. Perennial Burton Favorite Helena Bonham-Carter channels her inner “Goth Girl” as Mrs. Lovett who helps Sweeney on his road to revenge. (She isn’t without a few secrets of her own and a connection to Sweeney that I never quite figured out.) Alan Rickman comes a bit too close to “Severus Snape” for my taste but does a fine job as evil Judge Turpin. Character Actor Timothy Spall (who played a villainous henchman in Enchanted) reprises his henchman duties as Badle Bamford to oily perfection. Sacha Baron Cohen (of Borat fame) plays barber competitor “Signor Adolfo Pirelli” (who also has a connection to the Demon Barber). He displays a nice singing voice and gets one of the few comedic moments--before Sweeney slits his throat. Newcomer Jamie Campbell Bower (playing romantic figure Anthony Hope) is handsome and has a lovely tenor voice. The rest of the cast is made up of capable unknowns.
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This is a movie musical for people who aren’t fans of movie musicals: it wasn’t an easy movie for me to watch--and it is definitely not a “feel good flick” for anyone (except fans of horror movies). The language is a bit graphic as is the violence: this is not a movie for children or the faint-of-heart. Still, it is challenging and involving--and well worth the trip to the Cineplex. It may be the best movie I’ve seen in2007.
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FINAL GRADE: A+
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