Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Sweeney Todd: Johnny Depp
Mrs. Lovett: Helena Bonham Carter
Judge Turpin: Alan Rickman
Beadle Bamford: Timothy Spall
Anthony Hope: Jamie Campbell Bower
Johanna: Jayne Wisener
Toby: Ed Sanders
Signor Adolfo Pirelli: Sacha Baron Cohen
Beggar Woman: Laura Michelle Kelly
Dreamworks Pictures presents a picture directed by Tim Burton. Written by John Logan. Based off the play by Christopher Bond and musical adaptation by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler.
Running Time: 116 minutes
Rated R for graphic bloody violence.
Release Date: December 21, 2007
Review Date: December 23, 2007
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I've lost count of the number of films that Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter have collaborated on. Of course, I can't say that I've disliked a single one of them and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is no exception. In fact, it may be the best of the bunch.
The tale begins with Sweeney Todd himself (Depp) arriving in London on a boat with the optimistic young Anthony Hope (Bower), both with entirely different viewpoints of the city and how to go about spending their time there. Sweeney hasn't been in London since Anthony was likely a baby, being formerly forced out of the city and into prison for being with the right woman at the wrong time. When the powerful Judge Turpin (Rickman) sets sights on Benjamin Barker's bride, he takes her and her child for his own and leaves Barker to rot. Fifteen years later, Barker has become Sweeney Todd and is, indeed, an entirely different person.
He finds his way back to his old barber shop, but not before an encounter with Mrs. Lovett (Bonham Carter), who sells the worst meat pies in London - go ahead, just ask her - below the shop. Meanwhile, Anthony roams the streets to see a yellow-haired damsel in distress named Johanna, who is under the lock-and-key watch of Judge Turpin himself. Has been for those same fifteen years.
Clearly, Sweeney has plenty of reasons to slit the throat of the Judge. Of course, one good murder may just deserve another. Sweeney Todd certainly earns its R-rating as the deeper it goes, the bloodier it gets. I can't say as I really found it too disturbing, though. Maybe that's a reflection on me, or just a reflection on the fantastic musical numbers. Perhaps any act, no matter how vile, is slightly more acceptable with Johnny Depp singing and a superb orchestral score behind it.
In case you haven't guessed, Sweeney Todd is no hero. That the years have changed him is a definite understatement. Here is a man gripping onto whatever bit of sanity he has left after fifteen years in a prison cell without the knowledge of what's become of your family. The rules that may apply in 19th-century London do not apply in the head of the demon barber. Despite the rage within him, Sweeney is a sympathetic character - at least he's helping improve the quality of London's meat pies - and is given a tremendous depth by Depp. This is a performance worthy of an extra look for "awards season."
There are a few supporting characters thrown into the mix as well, but all I will say is that they are as outstanding in their supporting roles as Depp, Bonham Carter, and Rickman are as the leads. Despite the fact that Tim Burton typically turns to Depp and Bonham Carter for big roles, Sweeney Todd is flawlessly cast from the leads to the extras. Although I could've sworn I heard rival barber Pirelli (Cohen) sound like Ali G for a second or two. Nevertheless, he's one of the funnier parts of the extremely dark comedic side of the film.
In the end, I believe only in the hands of Burton, Depp, and Bonham Carter could a blood-filled film about murder, vengeance, and unknowing cannibalism be so entertaining. They handle it with care fit for the closest yet most delicate of shaves. If you've been blessed (?) with a darkly-lighthearted sense of humor, Sweeney Todd is an absolute joy.
**** (out of ****)