Review of SWEENEY TODD

January 17, 2008

I have heard the soundtrack album of this musical since probably 20 years ago. That was the first I have heard of Stephen Sondheim and his music. After all that time, I have never had the chance of watching Sweeney Todd on stage. So when I heard that Tim Burton is going to have a go at this musical, I just had to go see it. I haven't heard the music for such a long time already, that I was afraid I would have already totally forgotten it.

Anyway, my schedule was very tight, so I think I was a little late for the beginning of the movie, however when I entered and heard Anthony sing:

"I have sailed the world
beheld its wonders
from the Dardanells,
to the mountains of Peru,
But there's no place like London!..."

Everything came rushing back. The music was indeed very familiar to me still. Now what is left is to put the music with the visuals...

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter take on the roles made immortal by Len Cariou and the legendary Angela Lansbury. Honestly, their makeup looked very familiar, as if Edward Scissorhands meets Bellatrix Lestrange (of the Harry Potter 5 movie). Talking about Harry Potter, the antagonist roles of the evil Judge Turpin and his Beadle were played by Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall (who both played bad guys Prof. Snape and Pettigrew in HP movies). 

No doubt everyone in the main cast played and sang their role with relish and gusto. This would include Sacha Baron Cohen as Signor Pirelli, Todd's rival barber. The younger secondary characters Anthony and Joanna (Todd's daughter) were played by newcomers and this fact is quite sorrily evident.

This is the story of Benjamin Barker, a gentle and naive barber, who lost his wife, child and his freedom because of the jealous lusty desires of a decrepit Judge Turpin. After 15 years in prison, he sails back to London. He joins up with Mrs. Lovett, who now occupies his old house, baking the "worst pies in London." Together, Barker, now going under the name of Sweeney Todd, begins his plans to exact violent revenge on his enemy Judge.

When I saw how the story unfolded, and all the bloody details, I wondered about how Stephen Sondheim can use this type of scenario and still manage to give us such melodious and beautiful songs, such as "Joanna" and "Pretty Women" which were ironically sung to accompany throat-slashing scenes. This musical is also the original source of the the famous ballad "Not While I'm Around". Its place in the story is quite haunting, considering the big effect of this song's message on the ending of the whole movie.

Tim Burton is really in his element here. We know him for his visions of the Gothic and the macabre, and this play is so rich of this type of imagery. He was born to make this film as it is right up his alley. He handles the witty and naughty "A Little Priest" and the humorous yet sad "By the Sea" masterfully as well.

This is definitely not a film for the faint of heart. No wonder it is a rated R-18 film. Even if it were to be expected by someone familiar with the play's storyline, the sheer volume of the blood shed and the manner in which it was shed can still churn the stomach of the weak-livered. This is most certainly one of the bloodiest movies I have seen, matching the bloodbaths in "Saving Private Ryan" or "Braveheart."