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Movie Review
Sweeney Todd
TagsDr. Tom, Movie Review, Sweeny Todd |
For those of you who hate musicals, see this one anyway. It's not a play, it's a movie, and anyone who's a fan of the play will hopefully get that out of this too. Johnny Depp, as usual, doesn't "play" but embodies Sweeney Todd, the legendary barber of London's Fleet Street who sliced his clients' throats and had the lady in the bakery downstairs, Mrs. Nellie Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) grind their remains up into meat pies that were sold in a joint business that ended up going south.
Robbed of his family by the corrupt and evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), Todd, who went by Benjamin Barker before returning to London as a changed and bitter man, comes back to his barber chair with no clue as to what his wife and daughter's fate ended up. He soon learns that his wife poisoned herself not long after Turpin made her his own, and that his daughter Joanna is the judge's new ward. More blinded by the hope of vengeance than yearn to regain his daughter, Todd begins on a mission to lure Turpin into his barber chair and under his razor. Standing in the way is Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), an imposter who wants to be London's premiere barber and also knows the secret of who Todd really is. While Baron Cohen's role isn't huge, he pitches in just like everyone here -- with an excellent performance that doesn't "steal scenes" from anybody or anything else, as the kind of singing that one may expect in a well-done production of the play would seem awkward as awkward and unnatural as some wacky and overdone supporting character. Depp will be remembered as maybe the best filmic actor of his time not for how many odd roles he's taken, but for how simply effortless he makes all of them appear, and everybody else (except for maybe the young couple consisting of Todd's daughter and his shipmate) comes off the same. Neither Depp nor Bonham Carter could be called excellent singers here, and that's the point -- it would be just plain uncomfortable and showy if these characters had pipes of glorious melody. They can both hold a tune, and the singing they do keeps the emotion real, which is the whole reason this musical film doesn't play like a musical. Some good tunes from the actual play are missing here, in particular the song called "Sweeney Todd," and it doesn't take too long to see why -- the story that director Tim Burton wants to tell here (yes, Tim Burton tells a story this time, not just a neato look) is that of a man, not a legend that the folks on the street would gather 'round to sing to the camera about. What does end off a tidbit loose-ended as far as the attention paid to Joanna and her youthful lover still ends with a bang of emotion and thematic power, and all holds up well right into the end credits, which roll to music without lyrics to remind the viewer that this was a story told on film, not a "musical." The real triumph here is that it's hard to pay much attention to what's "good" and "bad" while you're watching this one, it just holds your attention without ever getting lame enough to remind you you're watching a movie, even though these people are technically singing in a world with a color theme.
(four bongs)
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