Dark but very well done.

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2008)

I should preface my comment by noting that I had no knowledge of the basics of the musical other than that it involved a murdering barber. And boy, how he does murder. However, in reading a lot of the comments here, it seems many of the devoted fans of the musical seem not to realize that this movie was not made in their interests. Yes, it may be a little too dark, or the music is unsatisfying, or some of the performances may not match up to your expectations.....but this movie was not made for you. The vast majority of people who have seen this movie are not such devoted fans as you are.
Anyway, I found the movie very dark but really something of a morality tale. It is about the former Benjamin Barker who has returned to London after 15 years away, sent away by venal judge Turbin (Alan Rickman typically excellent, and at his sleazy best) on false charges. He comes back to London angry and sets up as a barber above a pie shop (run by a very good Helena Bonham Carter's pragmatically calculating Ms. Lovett). Depp is very good and delivers one of his better performances, comparable to his work in "Ed Wood". Bonham Carter also deserves recognition as an amoral but realistic small business owner. She knows her pies are not great but if people are willing to buy them, she will sell them. Sacha Baron Cohen is very good as a former cohort who now works in a rather seedy milieu. Timothy Spall, as in "Secrets and Lies", is very good as Beadle, Judge Turpin's homer.
The film is quite dark but is saved by its sense of humor and the dark amorality of Ms. Lovett and Sweeney's collaboration. It is very bloody and if you don't like blood, this might throw you. It is SO bloody, however, that the frequency of the appearance of blood may diminish its dramatic impact. But maybe not. Anyway, consider yourself warned. Todd is determined to get his revenge on Turpin and along the way there are many twists and turns, both in his efforts to reclaim his daughter and in his relationships with some of the key figures.
Burton is at his best with dark material-note his work with "Nightmare before Christmas" and his work on the first two Batman films. This film and Victorian London are shot in gorgeously moody black and London except for a whimsical sequence in which Ms. Lovett expresses her desires for stability with Sweeney. Cinematography is beautiful in this film and the darkness of the material is not understated. There is some material which is very dark and Burton does not shrink from it so that the dark nature of the film is not lightened at all. However, it is always leavened by the bone-dry humor which serves to remind us that...it's all just a joke.
The conclusion of the film is a propos, I'll leave it at that. Just remember that this film is very bloody and if blood makes you a little weak in the knees, you will not want to see this film. But Burton, Depp, and Bonham Carter are really at the top of their games here.