Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

 

“GOD, THAT’S GOOD!”

If there is one movie from 2007 that should not be missed, I would venture to say that Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is it. This marks the sixth film that director Tim Burton has made with actor Johnny Depp (others include Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow and Corpse Bride) and they are both at the top of their game. The film also stars Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen (you know, the guy that played Borat) who also light up the screen in this adaptation of the Broadway hit.

 

Sweeney Todd is an exceptionally dark, comedic, dramatic musical (musical…I know, right?) set in London back in the day. Depp plays Sweeney Todd, a disgruntled, bitter barber who has been wrongfully imprisoned by Judge Turpin (played by Alan Rickman). After Todd is released from prison, he returns to London to find that his wife has committed suicide and his daughter is being held in seclusion by the very man who imprisoned him. He vows revenge and teams up with Helena Bonham Carter’s character, Mrs. Lovett – the owner of a meat pie restaurant that is known for the “worst pies in London”, to create a sinister, diabolic plan to carry out his vengeance.

 

I first heard of the musical Sweeney Todd in the vastly underrated Kevin Smith film Jersey Girl. Ben Affleck’s character’s daughter performs a scene from the play at her elementary talent show. The scene she happens to pick is one where Sweeney Todd starts slitting throats with his razor and the customers in the restaurant downstairs are singing a song with the line “God, that’s good.” I’m not entirely sure why many people didn’t enjoy that film.

 

This last summer I heard that Sweeney Todd was in production and being helmed by Tim Burton and starring Johhny Depp. I immediately got excited and couldn’t wait for December to roll around. I am a big fan of both of those guys and an even bigger fan of them working together. The wait was definitely worth it. Sweeney Todd is truly a movie like I’ve never seen before.

 

Tim Burton did superb work with every aspect of this film. From the lighting to the set to the camera angles, everything is extraordinary. While watching this film, it felt like I was watching the theatrical musical with a few extra shots that are like treats that you wouldn’t get out of the stage performance. Whoever the lighting director was – perhaps it was Burton himself, his movies have similar looks to them – deserves some form of award for the work done in Sweeney Todd. Everything was dark and gloomy but still bright and visible at the same time. The shadows that are cast on Depp’s face are menacing and evil and makes Depp’s character even more incredible. The set to the film is very theatrical as well, but at the same time has a sense of realness to it. It jumps out and really adds to the experience as a whole. Even the properties manager and special effects crew did amazing work.. Everything is sharp and macabre and the gore level isn’t over the top, but it’s definitely there. It’s not for the squeamish. However, the amount of blood that flies through the air is genuinely comical. What I’m getting at here is that Burton and his team did tremendous amount of pre-production work and took immaculate care of a superb script. Ergo, creating a force powerful, entertaining film that should be a force to be reckoned with when the Oscar’s come around.

 

There is one thing I did not like about the film but it doesn’t have to do with any of the production or acting or the film as a whole. It’s simply that in this version of Sweeney Todd, the “God, that’s good” song from Jersey Girl was edited from the final cut of this film. That is my only disappointment. Everything else about the film is absolutely phenomenal and the final shot is grotesquely, morbidly romantic.

 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street totally gets my thumbs up, my five stars, my five buckets of popcorn or what have yous. If it is still in a theater near you, go see it. It’s a definite masterpiece and one of the best films of 2007.

 

Until next time – Stay young, you’ll live longer.

NEXT REVIEW: Juno