Genre: musical drama
Director: Tim Burton
Release: 2007
Studio: DreamWorks, Warner Bros. Pictures, Neal Street Productions et al. – DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures
Rating: R
MBiS score: 8.0/10
Love That Bleeding In My Hand (sorry about that, Elton John!)
As their boat arrives in London one quiet night in 1802 (or is it 1840?), two men reflect on what the City means to them. The younger man, Anthony Hope (Jamie Campbell Bower), claims that London outshines all other splendours on Earth but his older mate, Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp), compares it to a huge hole in which vermin scuttle about under the contemptuous gaze of a privileged class. Clearly, young Anthony sees life with the eyes of a romantic while Sweeney’s view is tainted by bitterness. But why such anger, may you ask? Because of a barber named Barker, fifteen years before. With Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Lovett), Sacha Baron Cohen (Signor Adolfo Pirelli), Alan Rickman (Turpin), Timothy Spall (Beadle Bamford), Jayne Wisener (Johanna), Laura Michelle Kelly (the Beggar Woman) and Ed Sanders (Tobias Ragg).
Tim Burton’s vivid imagination and seamless direction work wonders in this gothic and gory film based on Stephen Sondheim's Broadway hit. His gift for shadows, outrageous characters and cockroach jokes imbues every frame along with gorgeous, quasi-black and white cinematography and dazzling special effects. Burton’s vision is very dark, emulating Sweeney’s psychological bent, and the rivers of blood his barber-butcher draws from unsuspecting clients seem utterly psychedelic in dimmed lighting. This film is assuredly colourless but the action it depicts is colourful indeed, dramatic at times and a tad humourous also. Art design, makeup and far-out costumes heighten the tragic and comic aspects of the story. Visually and stylistically speaking, SWEENEY TODD is a magical, surreal and riveting experience about a man who has escaped a prison only to slip into another.
Your ears will also be contented with the atmospheric music and imaginative songs that carry Sweeney’s gruesome story. Some of these songs are sweet and funny, others are very sinister but all are well written and performed. The cast digs into them with abandon, exhibiting more than average talent; Johnny Depp sings with a threatening growl that befits his tortured character while Helena Bonham Carter tears through long stretches without catching her breath. It is on stuff like this that Broadway has built its lasting reputation. Throughout the movie, sound effects and soundscapes are thunderous.
SWEENEY TODD’s power is also evident in its acting. I can only admire Johnny Depp for his intensity and versatility; he cuts a fine and menacing figure with his arm thrust into the air, hand holding the blade of vengeance. Helena Bonham Carter is equally fabulous, and not only for her getups, thick makeup and crazy hairdo. Let’s face it, these two make a smashing couple from hell. Alan Rickman, always a delectable villain, manages to shine even though his character seems unidimensional; I would have liked to know what inner demon drove Turpin to unadulterated meanness. In a similar register, Sacha Baron Cohen’s clear knack for drama and accents caught me completely off guard. Is Sacha possessed by Peter Sellers’ ghost? Possibly, methinks. As for the other characters, they are mostly eclipsed by the abovementioned four and, though I have no intention of disparaging this or that one, I felt that Anthony and Johanna were a bit bland by comparison while Beadle Bamford is a caricature as the sidekick with a gimmick, a cane reminiscent of Al Pacino’s in SCENT OF A WOMAN.
If there is a weak link in this expertly rendered movie, I do believe it is the story-line itself – though the same could be said of many musicals on stage or on screen. Warning – spoilers ahead! Basically, SWEENEY TODD is a standard revenger story (think Monte Cristo) recounted in over-the-top operatic form. It relies on a few strong coincidences conveniently linking all characters and some of its narrative elements are not entirely valid. (1) In an important scene, the young and beautiful Johanna, Turpin’s captive and Anthony’s budding love interest, throws a key to our lad from her bedroom window while the jealous Turpin, watching her from a keyhole, chooses not to intervene. Logically, you’d expect a stiffer reaction from this ogre of a man if you consider how he repelled Anthony in an earlier encounter; in his place, at the very least, I would have barged into the room to scold Johanna and threaten Anthony from the window. While we’re at it, how did Johanna ever get her hands on a house key with a monster like Turpin hovering around her? (2) If you adhere to the story, Sweeney should be at least fourteen years older than Pirelli but, notwithstanding Sweeney’s lock of white hair, I never felt that the age difference was that wide on screen. (3) Tobias’ fond reminiscences about Pirelli seem exaggerated when you consider how the Italian barber mistreated him; similarly, the boy’s initial suspicions about Sweeney are not really explained. (4) I had difficulty believing that a vulnerable little boy like Tobias would commit the final act of violence in the story but, of course, it had to be committed by one of the characters and there weren’t many left at that point. I’ll admit that the youngster had stated earlier that he would do anything for Mrs. Lovett… but he had also suggested calling the police. Why, then, did he take matters into his own hands? For his sake, we’ll simply assume that he was driven by his will to survive… or poisoned by all those pies he ate. (5) Lastly, the movie is somewhat disingenuous about the message it wants to convey. By counterbalancing an ironic and morally acceptable conclusion with several detailed depictions of the same slaughterous act, it manages to trivialize (or even glorify) violence by hinting that slitting throats may be horrendous but is also very cool. Personally, I don’t consider myself an innocent and I don’t object to multiple deaths in a work of art but, if you compare this production with Franco Zeffirelli’s HAMLET for example, you’ll see how better things can be when less emphasis is put on bloodshed. For all these reasons, I cannot give SWEENEY TODD as high a mark as I would have liked but, in its present state, it does remain a solid film.
Enough said! I’m sure you get the picture… and you may readily see it. Just don’t take it too seriously. It’s not worth busting an artery the next time you see a razor.
MBiS
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