Susan Granger’s review of “Sweeney Todd” (Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks)
This “Sweeney Todd” is not a film of the stage musical – unlike “Chicago,” “Dreamgirls” and “Hairspray.” It’s director Tim Burton’s unique interpretation of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd” – a cynical, chill-inducing, blood-splattering cinematic operetta.
Subtitled “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” it’s the tragic, gore-filled, Gothic tale of Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), a banished barber who returns to London with a young sailor (Jamie Campbell Bower) after escaping from prison in Australia. Calling himself Sweeney Todd, he’s vowed vengeance on Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) who’d banished him and stolen his wife and baby daughter. He’s aided by resourceful Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who accommodates his blood-thirsty rampage by stuffing his victims’ flesh into her meat pies. Woe to anyone who sits in his barber chair, including a flamboyant rival, Adolfo Pirelli (Borat’s Sacha Baron Cohen).
Based on an obscure British melodrama – which may or may not have been inspired by true events – “Sweeney Todd” was filmed once before, in 1982, with Broadway legends Angela Lansbury and George Hearn; Patti LuPone then did it on “Encores.”
Tim Burton’s grimly dark, uncompromisingly macabre vision has the stunning, surrealistic visual style of “Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” “Edward Scissorhands” and “Ed Wood,” while screenwriter John Logan focuses on diabolical Sweeney, lovelorn Mrs. Lovett and the plight of the street urchin Toby (Edward Sanders), who serves as the moral compass of the story,.
While neither Johnny Depp nor Helena Bonham-Carter is a trained vocalist, they sing with the voice of their characters – and it’s surprisingly good. The rest of the cast is pitch-perfect. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Sweeney Todd” is a compelling, sinister 10 – a repellent masterpiece!
Forget about your preconceptions – and relish one of the 10 Best Movies of 2007.
