Attend the tale

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2007)

Every pitfall this film could have fallen in-and were there ever plenty of pitfalls readily awaiting Tim Burton and his devoted cast and crew-it skillfully avoids. It's tragedy about the titular barber (Johnny Depp), who teams up with a local baker (Helena Bonham Carter) to seek vengeance on a malicious judge (Alan Rickman). It's also a musical, and make no bones about it; everyone sings. I would venture to say that over 3/4 of the story is told in song. But if all you Broadway-haters can get past the singing, you'll find a brilliantly crafted movie with heart and wit to spare. The performers are all spot on; Depp and Bonham Carter both give their characters a complete makeover (vocals included), and it works superbly. Rickman tucks into a role only he could play. And the assorted newcomers in supporting roles will be the bigshots of tomorrow-especially the gifted Jamie Campbell Bower. Production design and editing are top-notch, too. Oh, and for the slasher fans; wait patiently; the stuff doesn't really start spraying until the corpse-tastic finale, and boy, does it spray. For those who want to see a nice, tidy movie to fall in love with; "PS I Love You" came out this Friday as well. For those looking for a genre-bending oddity brought to faithful, glorious life on screen, the Demon Barber is waiting.