"There's a hole in the world like a great black pit..."
Went to see Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on New Year's Day with zaknafein_d, theladyinpurple and her fella. Very impressed with the film, but then again, I usually am impressed by anything combining the talents of Burton and Depp.
Depp's interpretation of Sweeney was gritty and tortured. His voice is a nice, light baritone in sound; however, you can feel the inner turmoil and seething anger in every chord he sings - a talent I attribute much more to his abilities as an impresario than a singer. His Todd is a brooding madman buried in his grief. He spends as much time on the screen in silence as in song, choosing to tell his character's story through haunting looks and quiet mannerisms as much, if not more so, than in his rare moments of blind fury and rage. His is truly a unique and impressive performance.
Helena Bonham-Carter's Mrs. Lovett is a weak-voiced, hopelessly besotted cynic. She sings to us in a thin-lipped whisper, which doesn't always work with Sondheim's score. However, I have to admit she's a perfect match physically for Depp. You can sense the friendly intimacy between the actors, and this lends a positive chemistry to their tragic duo. No one can doubt for an instance her ability to act the part, and even her small vocal failings can be easily overlooked when you reflect on her overall performance.
The supporting cast is an interesting hodgepodge. Rickman is perfectly cast as the lecherous Judge Turpin. In fact, his villains are men I love to hate, and his Judge is no exception. Timothy Spall has honed the performance of the wheedling, conniving sidekick down to an exact science, while newcomers Jamie Campbell Bower, Jayne Wisener and Ed Sanders add a touch of lightheartedness, innocence and beauty to this stark, dark tale of madness with Bower and Sanders giving pitch-perfect performances with their vocal talents. Die hard fans of the musical may be a tad disappointed in the loss of much of the story development around Bower and Wisener's young lovers, but it won't be missed by those who come into the film with virgin eyes. Though all of the performances are noteworthy in their own rights, it is funny man Sacha Baron Cohen's comic turn as the rival barber Signor Pirelli which proves to be the show stopper. Viewers will definitely mourn the loss of his character and wish he'd had just a bit more screen time.
Of course, there is a enough spurting, oozing, dripping blood to satisfy the most ardent fan of gore, and no one can doubt for a minute that Burton isn't the silver screen king of the macabre. True, Sondheim's score has been nipped and tucked and much of the lewdness and debauchery has been cut completely, but it should be very easy for enthusiasts of the musical to see the necessity of each cut in bridging the transition of the material from stage to film. In the end, Burton's vision is a faithful, tightly-bound tribute to the enduring musical legacy that is Sweeney Todd.
P.S. Having never actually viewed a stage production of the musical, zaknafein_d and I may try to score tickets to the Broadway Across America production of Sweeney Todd coming to Louisville in February - just in time for Valentine's Day I might add. :-)
P.P.S. For those of you unfamiliar with the musical at all, here's a little taste of the Emmy Award-winning performance of George Hearn and his co-star Angela Lansbury (who originated the role of Mrs. Lovett on Broadway) from the 1982 PBS special. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYGHHxJnDIw
Depp's interpretation of Sweeney was gritty and tortured. His voice is a nice, light baritone in sound; however, you can feel the inner turmoil and seething anger in every chord he sings - a talent I attribute much more to his abilities as an impresario than a singer. His Todd is a brooding madman buried in his grief. He spends as much time on the screen in silence as in song, choosing to tell his character's story through haunting looks and quiet mannerisms as much, if not more so, than in his rare moments of blind fury and rage. His is truly a unique and impressive performance.
Helena Bonham-Carter's Mrs. Lovett is a weak-voiced, hopelessly besotted cynic. She sings to us in a thin-lipped whisper, which doesn't always work with Sondheim's score. However, I have to admit she's a perfect match physically for Depp. You can sense the friendly intimacy between the actors, and this lends a positive chemistry to their tragic duo. No one can doubt for an instance her ability to act the part, and even her small vocal failings can be easily overlooked when you reflect on her overall performance.
The supporting cast is an interesting hodgepodge. Rickman is perfectly cast as the lecherous Judge Turpin. In fact, his villains are men I love to hate, and his Judge is no exception. Timothy Spall has honed the performance of the wheedling, conniving sidekick down to an exact science, while newcomers Jamie Campbell Bower, Jayne Wisener and Ed Sanders add a touch of lightheartedness, innocence and beauty to this stark, dark tale of madness with Bower and Sanders giving pitch-perfect performances with their vocal talents. Die hard fans of the musical may be a tad disappointed in the loss of much of the story development around Bower and Wisener's young lovers, but it won't be missed by those who come into the film with virgin eyes. Though all of the performances are noteworthy in their own rights, it is funny man Sacha Baron Cohen's comic turn as the rival barber Signor Pirelli which proves to be the show stopper. Viewers will definitely mourn the loss of his character and wish he'd had just a bit more screen time.
Of course, there is a enough spurting, oozing, dripping blood to satisfy the most ardent fan of gore, and no one can doubt for a minute that Burton isn't the silver screen king of the macabre. True, Sondheim's score has been nipped and tucked and much of the lewdness and debauchery has been cut completely, but it should be very easy for enthusiasts of the musical to see the necessity of each cut in bridging the transition of the material from stage to film. In the end, Burton's vision is a faithful, tightly-bound tribute to the enduring musical legacy that is Sweeney Todd.
P.S. Having never actually viewed a stage production of the musical, zaknafein_d and I may try to score tickets to the Broadway Across America production of Sweeney Todd coming to Louisville in February - just in time for Valentine's Day I might add. :-)
P.P.S. For those of you unfamiliar with the musical at all, here's a little taste of the Emmy Award-winning performance of George Hearn and his co-star Angela Lansbury (who originated the role of Mrs. Lovett on Broadway) from the 1982 PBS special. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYGHHxJnDIw