Superb characters, beautiful music and Gothic charm...

Rating: 8/10 (31 January 2008)

Sweeney Todd is a fantastic movie full to the brim of superb characters, beautiful music and Gothic charm. Director Tim Burton (Batman, Edward Scissorhands, The Corpse Bride) is a master of Gothic cinematography and misunderstood outcasts and is one of the best directors working in Hollywood today. He has managed to become a mainstream artist without compromising his personal visions. This film is no exception to this.
Sweeney Todd, played by Burton regular Johnny Depp, is wrongly imprisoned by a corrupt judge (Alan Rickman) and returns from prison years later to find his wife and daughter and seek bloody revenge with the help of pie maker, Mrs. Lovett, played by Helena Bonham Carter. The plot may seem simplistic but runs deeper than what is seen on the surface and is truly enthralling from the opening scene to the gripping conclusion.
Performances in Sweeney Todd are undoubtedly flawless. Any preconceptions of Johnny Depp as a certain Pirate are immediately washed away as soon as he takes his first victim, which is suitably gory and fuelled by blood-lust. Depp has been refused Oscars on numerous occasions but his performance here is truly Oscar-worthy. And Helena Bonham Carter is equally brilliant as the devious and darkly comical Mrs. Lovett; why she hasn't been even nominated at this year's Oscars is unfathomable. The supporting cast also shines with talent, from the evil glint in Alan Rickman's eyes to the impressive turn from newcomers Jayne Wisener and Jamie Campbell Bower and Sacha Baron Cohen's cameo as Todd's Italian rival.
Stephen Sondheim's music is hypnotic and fresh, suitably toned down for the big screen (don't go expecting any Hairspray-style campness here). My only criticism would be that the soundtrack may have been toned down a little too much. About 70-80% of the movie is song, transitioned subtly between dialogue. Burton's cinematography must also be commended for bringing a gloomy and Gothic 1850's London to life while retaining a certain level of dark humour throughout.
I thoroughly enjoyed Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and would recommend this to anyone (over the age of 18, considering its appropriate rating). Overflowing with beautiful imagery and Gothic stylisation, Oscar-worthy performances and enchanting music, this is cinema at its best.