Love, revenge, madness and... human pies?

Rating: 7/10 (6 June 2013)

Sweeney Todd has been a notorious character in English urban myth. So notorious in fact, that he got a musical named after him and now a film as well. Sweeney Todd: the demon barber of Fleet Street is a horror/musical film that centres around a barber that goes by the name of Benjamin Barker. Falsely accused by a judge who was after his wife, he was sent away to Australia, but returns after fifteen years with the help of a sailor boy. The years in prison have changed him, or rather: they made him, no pun intended, barking mad. Benjamin Barker has changed from a loving husband and father into Sweeney Todd, an emotionally unstable man with no empathy, whose only goal is to take revenge on Judge Turpin; the man that took Todd's old life away. He rents his old shop above the pie shop of Mrs. Lovett, who recognises him and tells him what has happened in the years that passed: Judge Turpin has raped Sweeney's wife Lucy, after which she poisoned herself. Due to her mother's death, Sweeney's daughter Johanna was adopted by the judge and now lives in his keeping. Mr Todd takes up his old profession as a barber, but with only one goal: to lurk judge Turpin into his shop and slit his throat, which he wishes to accomplish with the help of Mrs. Lovett. Along the way, there are more throats to take care of, and the bodies somehow end up in Mrs. Lovett's meat pies. From the summary, it might already be clear that this film is not for everyone. There are some horror elements in there, and it is quite certain that everybody who greatly dislikes musical films could better get as far away from this one as possible. However, the film does manage to entertain because of the convincing characters, some catchy songs and quite a twist at the end. Did the plot line about humans chopped into meat pies convince you? No? That is because the plot itself isn't too strong. Of course, the film was based on an urban myth and therefore they couldn't leave plot points such as the meat pies stuffed with human limbs out, but it cannot be called truly convincing. The first body that disappears down the meat grinder still has some plausibility attached to it; Sweeney killed him because the man tried to blackmail him, and now they need to dispose of the body. Mrs. Lovett could use the meat, and there-fore they put him into the pastry. The people that follow were not killed for these convincing reasons, in fact, Todd's next victims were all killed so Sweeney can hush his lust for blood. This could be forgiven, were it not for the horribly fake blood squirting out of arteries. To be honest the blood appeared to be orange rather than red. After all of this, though, it must be said that the two cons stated above could very well be the only two. True, if you hate singing with a passion, this might not be the film for you. And yet, the singing itself cannot be blamed for this: everybody's singing abilities range from reasonable to great and the songs are catchy. Either way, the singing doesn't distract the viewer from the plot, which cannot be said for each musical film out there (looking at you, Les MisÃ©rables). The acting in itself could be called superb: Mr. Depp and Mrs. Bonham Carter have a certain chemistry that works out really well. Helena convinces as a woman with little empathy but deeply in love with someone who she knows is everything but stable. Johnny doesn't just impersonate a madman driven by nothing but revenge: he becomes said mad-man. This becomes rather clear in the scene in which Sweeney had his hands on the throat of Judge Turpin, only to lose him before he can slit his throat. He takes out his anger on Mrs. Lovett, who after all of this still stays with him and even tries to comfort him. The dÃ©cor, make-up and costumes only add to this: there is a sharp contrast between the almost candy-coloured past and hopes for the future Mrs. Lovett cherishes, and reality, which consists mainly of black and grey. As a plus, the dÃ©cor is often broken and rooms are empty. You only need to take a look at Sweeney's shop to find an example of this: it contains only the chair in which he kills his victims, and a mirror smashed to pieces. The unhealthy living conditions and the unhealthy motivations of the characters manifest itself in paleness and dark spots under their eyes. The film itself gives you a kind of eerie feeling, a bit as if you are descending into madness as well. For example, in one scene Sweeney bashes someone's head in with a pot filled with boiling tea. Immediately after, he and Mrs. Lovett happily waltz through her shop while singing about what different people will taste like once put into pies. All in all, this film is quite enjoyable, even though the special effects look rather fake at times and the plot itself is not always able to convince. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, together with the rest of quite an impressive cast, manage to keep the viewer interested with their amazing acting skills. The dÃ©cor, costumes and make-up only add to this. The singing is quite alright and should not hold people back from watching. Is this a film that will stick with you for a long time coming? No, it probably won't. Does it provide some quality entertainment for two hours? Yes, it certainly does. So if you enjoy films with singing and strong acting, and you won't be bothered by a weaker plot, this could very well be the right film for you.