“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Grade: A-

Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd is the perfect source material for gonzo director Tim Burton and oddball actor Johnny Depp to explore their beautiful dark twisted fantasies. A few more notes on Sweeney Todd:

Directing:

Who better than Burton to direct a musical about a serial killer in the gloomy drab of 19^th century London? The visuals are surreal, the gore is deliriously grand in a Kill Bill kind of way and the camera angles and quick editing masterfully amp up the suspense to resemble something close to horror. For the most part, Burton restrains his more campy tendencies and presents Sweeney Todd like a stage play, letting the actors and songs take center stage.

Acting:

Whatever you might think of Depp’s collaborations with Burton, you can’t deny that he delivers a great acting performance every time. Sweeney Todd features all the weirdo Depp trademarks (e.g., exaggerated makeup; crazy hair; stoic quirkiness) but with powerful singing instead of his usual eccentric dialogue. Likewise, the entire cast does a terrific job of bringing their characters to vivid life via song, which easily conveys the tragedy and dark humor of the storyline. Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall (a perverted Harry Potter reunion) are all very compelling in their roles.

Writing:

Sweeney Todd is a story of revenge, but we don’t necessarily sympathize or identify with any of the characters. Todd and his lover, Nellie Lovett (played by Carter), are cannibalistic murderers, after all. So while the storyline only gifts us shallow emotions, the musicality hints at something deeper and more expressive. A sub-plot about meat pies made from corpses would be repulsive by itself, but we can’t turn away when it’s accompanied by such beautiful song.

Music:

While Burton, Depp, Bonham Carter et al do a fantastic job of bringing this sordid Shakespearean tragedy to life, the heavy lifting is done by Sondheim. The visuals add to the music, not the other way around, and every song is fantastic, with beautiful melodies and catchy lyrics and impressionistic orchestral backing that reminds me of Benjamin Britten at his best.

Ending (SPOILERS):

The big twist is that Sweeney Todd’s wife is still alive after being presumed dead for many years. Well, she was alive a few moments ago — Todd killed her unknowingly. This makes his entire revenge mission, which has resulted in the deaths of so many people, whether deserving or not, appropriately pointless. At the end, we don’t feel sympathy or shock — Sweeney Todd is just an exercise in style more than anything else. It’s the amazing music that lives on in your head long after the film is over; not the characters or the storylines or the plot twists.

“They all deserve to die. Even you, Mrs. Lovett. Even I.” – Sweeney Todd

Why Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street gets an A-:

I may have to revise my grade and give Sweeney Todd an A, but for now the only thing holding it back is a lack of overall profundity: this is an exercise in style over substance. The melodies carry the movie.

---