Let’s
make a
deal. I know the
full title is Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
However, we will refer to it as Sweeney
Todd for the rest of this review
because if I type The
Demon Barber of Fleet Street every time, I will finish
the review some time around January 5th, and I don’t want to
miss out on
opening my Christmas presents (I’m still hoping I will find
Pam from The
Office
under my Christmas Tree wearing a bow or the Sexy Santa outfit with the
red
velvet mini-skirt and black leather boots).
Johnny Depp
stars as Benjamin Barker – a once great barber wrongfully
sent to prison by a
judge, Turpin (Alan Rickman), who wanted to steal his beautiful wife
and baby from
him. Years
later, Benjamin has been
released, changed his name to Sweeney Todd and returned to Fleet Street
seeking
revenge on the people who stole everything he loved from him. Complicating matters,
Sweeney’s young
daughter, Johanna (Jayne Wisener) is still alive and living with Judge
Turpin,
but a young man, Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower), wants to save her from
the
dastardly lawman, who is plotting something nefarious.
Will Sweeney get
his revenge? Can
Anthony save Johanna
from Judge Turpin? What’s
in those meat
pies?
Sweeney
Todd is
wickedly funny, darkly humorous and a macabre celebration of vengeance
that
will brighten the holiday of anyone sick of jingle bells and angels
getting
their wings. Director
Tim Burton is at
the top of his game creating a dark, dingy, frighteningly bleak world
that also
tickles your funny bone with every song.
Yes, anyone who is not familiar with the story will
be shocked to find
out it is almost all musical, but that’s part of what
makes Sweeney
Todd such
an amazing accomplishment, and one that will keep you captivated from
beginning
to end.
It is a visually
stunning movie with nice little touches and details that reward the
audience
members who pay attention. From
the
color schemes that match emotions and feelings of hope to the comically
over-the-top way those who sit in Sweeney Todd’s barber chair
meet their demise
to the creatures who inhabit Mrs. Lovett’s (Helena Binham
Carter) meat shop,
this is a film that blows you away.
Then, the music kicks in (in a good way).
Steven
Sondheim’s
lyrics bring the characters to life, advance the story and bring the
right
touch of dark humor that will have you laughing harder than you have in
a long
time, while also feeling the fright and horror of a man losing control
as he
seeks violent revenge for being wronged.
You have to pay attention to the lyrics because they
hold the key to
what is happening and what each character is plotting, and
you’ll be glad you
did.
Depp is the only
actor who can make Sweeney
Todd this good.
He has an amazing talent to take the most
fantastical of characters and
make the audience understand and embrace them instead of dismissing
them as
weird because of their actions or strange hair.
With Todd, he gives the character the right amounts
of anger, hate, and
devilishness, while throwing in some depression and misery. Depp brings a wonderful
amount of rage and
madness to the barber, but helps the audience see the justification
when
needed, and fear for his soul when it all seems to be spiraling out of
control
Perfectly
complimenting Depp, Helena Bonham Carter creates a Mrs. Lovett who is
cheerfully daft, but also chooses the right moments to show her devious
streak. While Depp
displays Todd’s
feelings on his sleeve, Carter makes sure Mrs. Lovett only reveals her
intentions at the precisely right moments, and even finds a few scenes
to
display the meat pie maker’s vulnerability.
Fans of Sasha
Baron Cohen will not be disappointed with his turn as Aldolfo Pirelli,
which
could be the year’s highlight for cameo appearances. He lights up the screen in
his short role as
a rival to Sweeney Todd and proves he can go toe-to-toe with the best
actors
out there by finding a great chemistry with Depp.
Meanwhile, I wish Rickman and Timothy Spall
received more screen time as Todd’s nemeses, but I am greedy
that way.
Sweeney
Todd might feel more
like a Halloween season movie, but you should hope to find a
couple tickets to the film in your stocking anyway, whether you have
been naughty or nice.
4 Waffles
(Out of 4)
Sweeney
Tood: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is
rated R for graphic bloody violence.
Copyright
2007 - WaffleMovies.com
