Mixed Feelings... A Bit of Critique, a Bit of Praise

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2007)

I am a die-hard fan of Sondheim's masterpiece which this film is based upon. I was positively giddy going into the theater to see this picture and I was very happy with the result. I thoroughly did enjoy this movie and will probably go back to see it many more times. However, there were certain things that somewhat belittled the overall message of the story.
In the opening song "The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd", the one lyrics "Revenge may lead the road to hell, but everyone does it and seldom as well." and "He never forgot and he never forgave." were incredibly important, however I can clearly see why the ballads were cut. They give it more of a Broadway show feeling, which the movie was trying to shake away. But when "Never Forget. Never Forgive." is the tag line, the lyric should be in there someplace. It's the whole point of the story, and it was sort of lost.
Also, while I did like the ending atmosphere while Sweeney mourned his poor Lucy in bloody silence, Sweeney was implosive the whole movie. I wish there had been some kind of contrast where he was yelling or something. Explosive anger. I mean sure, throwing a woman into an oven is definitely anger, but still... And if he had yelled at Toby or something, telling him to go away, scaring the kid, it would have made more sense for him to kill Sweeney, rather than just angrily slitting his throat (even though Ed Sanders was definitely a little bad-ass :). The contrast would have given the movie something more. Another kind of contrast that would have added so much would be the fact that Sweeney was morbid from beginning to end. Yes, it is a depressing, macabre story with few happy moments. However, the sadness would have been so much sadder if the happy moments had really been happy. Just because Sweeney was going to die in two hours doesn't mean that he needs to be depressed and angry whilst waltzing around the shop with Mrs. Lovett. If the happiness had been there, the character would have been multi-dimensional. Sure, all he focuses on is killing Judge Turpin anyway, but he would have seemed more human. Then when he died, the audience would have maybe felt a little more for him.
Another thing, Helena Bonham Carter's voice was this thin little wisp of a thing and she wasn't fun or funny as MRs. Lovett has always been. It was a different take on the role, which doesn't necessarily mean it was bad, but it felt like it was missing something. She wasn't as crazy in a lighthearted way, but just plain creepy. It worked, in a way, but her voice was what made it less enjoyable for me. If there was some kind of substance there in her tone, I would have enjoyed it more. But for never having done anything musical before, I give Helena mad props.
The blood, while somewhat overplayed (human necks are not fire-hydrants damn it), was great. I loved that the whole movie was black, white, gray, and dark green, and then the blood was this beautiful brilliant bright red. It added a real artistic edge to the film. It was a great contrast. If the cast had followed suit in that sort of contrast, it would have been one of Burton's best. However, there was too much in the very last scene. A slight trickle of blood onto Lucy's face coming from the gush of Sweeney's throat would have been beautiful and moving, but the woman was getting a damn waterfall. That was a bit much (even though I cried anyway).
In closing, Ed Sanders was the gem of this movie. Great voice for a kid of that age (I think he's either twelve or my age, not quite sure) and a truly wonderful performance.
A great movie overall, even if some aspects left a bit to be desired. Brava.