Sweeny Todd
Todd opens abrupt -- the prow of it‘s sinister intention moving forward without apology to Oscar or Hammerstein. Your eyes are barely adjusting to the dimming of the lights when you find yourself confronted by the strains of the opening song; a gloomy piece as dark as the ship carrying the Demon Barber of Fleet Street toward his bitter aspirations.
In the roll of Sweeny Todd, Burton’s primary instrument Johnny Depp finds a macabre body to inhabit; the merciless shell of a man whose only dimension is measured by revenge. Right from the beginning there is the sense that Todd has traveled a inestimable road, each step of it pierced with anguish over the loss of his once brilliant life at the hands of Judge Turpin a corrupt judicial official, played by the ever evil Alan Rickman. Like Alexandre Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo, Todd’s transformation from caring human to vengeful demon hides his identity from everyone except Helena Bohnime Carter as Mrs. Lovett. When Todd returns to the flat where he and his beautiful wife resided some fifteen years earlier, Mrs. Lovett discovers Todd’s true identity and offers herself as willing collaborator in Todd’s plan to murder Judge Turpin; source of Todd’s anguish.
There are few light moments in this story with one being a barber showdown, where Todd out-shaves a rival barber and comes to the notice of the judges henchman, Beadle Bamford (by the brilliant Timothy Spall). The plan to is lure Judge Turpin into Sweeny’s barber chair where Turpin’s throat can be neatly unzipped from the outside with the quick, mean steel of Todd’s razor. What transpires is that Todd is nearly identified by the rival barber. Todd remedies this near fatal slip by dispatching his opponent to barber hereafter. From that moment the film becomes a gore fest of the demon’s revenge on society, in particular the privileged men of power. The bodies are unceremoniously dumped down a chute, into the basement of the building where Mrs. Lovett turns the fresh protein into the most lovely meat pies in all of London.
There are no vast choral pieces here. No vibrant melodies to lighten your mood; nothing to take you beyond where Tim Burton wishes you to go. But what is here is the tale of evil meeting evil on it’s own terms. To do this without wavering with guilt or remorse for not presenting even the smallest splinter of light or hope or belief that some good will come from this story takes courage and the ability to understand completely the nature of the Demon Barber. Burton does his part as well as he ever has and Depp, Carter and Rickman are as good or better as any of them have ever been. The rest of the cast shines in the bleak drama and even the small love interest of Todd’s coveted daughter and a young man do nothing to buff up the shades of gray. There is only one thing that brightens the films dark roll; the crimson of spurting, spraying, pooling blood.
My Recommendations:
* If your favorite composer is Mendelssohn - Go back to sleep
** If your favorite composer is Willie Nelson - First set your alarm for “Next Lifetime,” then, when the alarm sounds, wake up, and rent the film.
*** If your favorite composer is Glenn Miller - Well, it ain’t nothing like The Big One. Rent it when you want to see what listening to Miller has led to.
**** If your favorite composer is Andrew Lloyd Webber - Rent it anytime after lots of champagne and a very bad date.
***** If your favorite composer is anyone from the Beatles on - This is a good bet for an afternoon-skipping work-missing go-to-the-movies jaunt.
****** If your favorite composer is anyone within the past decade - This is prime film for late night. Higher prices, but just the hits from being seen out at night, paying big bucks for a great film, will be worth every penny.
marc
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