Sweeney Todd
Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd was a bloody disappointment. Call it Sweeney Lite. Much of the blame falls on the frail shoulders and vocals of the two leads. They are both too young for the roles, and lack the gravitas that they require, especially Johnny Depp. I would say this is the worst performance I have ever seen him give, and it's because he was sadly miscast. There was a permanent scowl on his face, and very little of the nuance that he injected into his other roles. He also looked for much of the time like Edward Scissorhands. It occurred to me that it might have been a deliberate choice. If so, it was a gross miscalculation.
For those who expressed pleasant surprise that Depp can sing, I am sorry to say that I think he cannot. It's not just a matter of his voice, which was weak enough. His phrasing was stiff, neither conversational or dramatic, as if he didn't know the meaning of the words, or how they should be conveyed. I suspect that a lot of it had to do with being afraid to over-project, or even being unable to project enough. The underplaying, and under-singing, was probably necessitated by his slender vocal resources, but this is not a score that can consistently reward restraint. Hence, the climaxes fall flat, and one of the highlights of the musical, Sweeney's raging determination to practice killing on innocent people while waiting for his chance with the judge, became a non-event. Helena Bonham-Carter has precisely the same problem, and her singing is even worse than Depp's, which makes her songs almost unbearable. "The Worst Pies in London" and "By the Sea", my favorites in the musical, became my least favorite in the movie. This Mrs Lovett was simply too lightweight to be either funny or horrible enough for me to care much about her. She did redeem herself briefly in the scene with the boy Toby, when "Nothing's Gonna Harm You" was sung, but by then, it was too little too late.
There were worthy performances. Sacha Baron Cohen gave the best vocal performance, if slightly rough around the edges. Alan Rickman was... Alan Rickman, but Judge Turpin, robbed of his "flagellation/masturbation" song, lacks the final dimension that makes his evil lust both scary and tragic.
Tackling Sweeney Todd exposes Tim Burton's art for what it is. While purporting to be dark, it is finally not dark enough. There is a sentimentality to it, and Sweeney Todd is not sentimental. Burton's Gothic whimsy does not fit the black humor that is in the musical, so it became a case of the foot being too small for the shoe.
But Sondheim's music remains invincible. Although most of the score, especially when Depp or Bonham-Carter is singing, goes much... too... slowly( "A Little Priest", which was very badly directed, and "My Friends", another non-highlight, almost ground to a halt), when left to its own devices, I was still moved to tears, perhaps calling on the memory of past, greater performances. And it was to one of these performances that I turned, listening on my iPod to the mighty George Hearn and luscious Patti Lupone for the REAL Sweeney Todd.
For those who expressed pleasant surprise that Depp can sing, I am sorry to say that I think he cannot. It's not just a matter of his voice, which was weak enough. His phrasing was stiff, neither conversational or dramatic, as if he didn't know the meaning of the words, or how they should be conveyed. I suspect that a lot of it had to do with being afraid to over-project, or even being unable to project enough. The underplaying, and under-singing, was probably necessitated by his slender vocal resources, but this is not a score that can consistently reward restraint. Hence, the climaxes fall flat, and one of the highlights of the musical, Sweeney's raging determination to practice killing on innocent people while waiting for his chance with the judge, became a non-event. Helena Bonham-Carter has precisely the same problem, and her singing is even worse than Depp's, which makes her songs almost unbearable. "The Worst Pies in London" and "By the Sea", my favorites in the musical, became my least favorite in the movie. This Mrs Lovett was simply too lightweight to be either funny or horrible enough for me to care much about her. She did redeem herself briefly in the scene with the boy Toby, when "Nothing's Gonna Harm You" was sung, but by then, it was too little too late.
There were worthy performances. Sacha Baron Cohen gave the best vocal performance, if slightly rough around the edges. Alan Rickman was... Alan Rickman, but Judge Turpin, robbed of his "flagellation/masturbation" song, lacks the final dimension that makes his evil lust both scary and tragic.
Tackling Sweeney Todd exposes Tim Burton's art for what it is. While purporting to be dark, it is finally not dark enough. There is a sentimentality to it, and Sweeney Todd is not sentimental. Burton's Gothic whimsy does not fit the black humor that is in the musical, so it became a case of the foot being too small for the shoe.
But Sondheim's music remains invincible. Although most of the score, especially when Depp or Bonham-Carter is singing, goes much... too... slowly( "A Little Priest", which was very badly directed, and "My Friends", another non-highlight, almost ground to a halt), when left to its own devices, I was still moved to tears, perhaps calling on the memory of past, greater performances. And it was to one of these performances that I turned, listening on my iPod to the mighty George Hearn and luscious Patti Lupone for the REAL Sweeney Todd.