Bloody good

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2008)

I looked forward to seeing this film for several reasons - Burton, Depp, Rickman, Bonham-Carter and Sondheim. I was a bit worried though, as I have a limited capacity for bloody scenes. I did cheat and read the play before going, just so I knew when to expect a slashing, as opposed to shaving, blade. That being said, I was very impressed with the film - appropriately and richly dark and foreboding, details in every shot that put you in both the time and place, and an easy comfort with the musical score. Sondheim is not easy to sing, and everyone did very well, with surprisingly good voices all around. We've seen the crazy in Helena Bonham Carter in Harry Potter, but this is a toned down version that shows a nasty turn of mind and potential for mayhem bubbling underneath. Johnny Depp is always good at the slightly out-of-mainline-society character. Alan Rickman is equally practiced at smoothly evil or at least nasty characters, but here the hint of niceness and charm makes him even scarier. And in the end, the bloody scenes were quite bearable, while at the same time so close to being over-the-top that you got a sense of the madness in Sweeney Todd's mind.