Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd...

Rating: 10/10 (31 December 2007)

Sweeney Todd, the film version of Stephen Sondheim's critically-acclaimed 1978 Broadway play, is perfect in every way imaginable. Tim Burton's best film so far, Sweeney Todd is a movie-musical unlike anything you've ever seen. Its Gothic tone, its dark grays and blacks, its massively creative cinematography, and its beautiful lyrics, songs, and acting are a welcome treat to the amazing year of 2007. Sweeney Todd is directed by Tim Burton and stars Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, Sasha Baron Cohen, and Timothy Spall.
Years ago, a barber by the name of Benjamin Barker and his lovely wife and their child were torn apart when a wicked judge sent Barker away for life on "a fool's charge." Judge Turpin was simply a jealous monster who craved the attention of the beautiful wife. Now, almost fifteen years later, Barker returns to London under the alias Sweeney Todd. It is virtually unknown as to how he escaped, but the audience doesn't need to know: the story is captivating, and the movie relies a lot on your imagination, putting a previously unforeseen amount of faith in the audience. Sweeney returns to his old residence to find it utterly abandoned, apart from a wise and suspicious figure known as Mrs. Lovett, who tells him from the moments she sees him that she has "the worst pies in London." The two of them make for an unexpected duo when Todd starts killing off some of his old rivals with the sharp blade of the barber's razor.
The movie is undeniably bloody. That's the first thing that everyone has to know. The blood is over-the-top, though, on purpose. The blood isn't supposed to gross you out, it's supposed to be a character all its own. With all of the dark hues and blacks everywhere, the blood serves as a frightening contrast with Sweeney's spiraling madness. The bright colors are so noticeable that it's no wonder the upbeat number "By the Sea" works so well; it shows viewers a world different from this one, where everything is bright and pretty and colorful. Mrs. Lovett has fallen so completely and totally in love with Sweeney that when we finally glimpse what she's thinking, it is beyond beautiful in some strange and twisted way.
The thing that makes this film work so well is the poetic and tragic story that unfolds in front of you. Underneath all of the beautiful lyrics and songs lies a completely enthralling journey into madness. It seems that by the film's end almost every character is driven completely insane. The ending is so perfect in its beauty, but it's definitely a very strange ending.
The acting in Sweeney Todd was absolutely phenomenal. Obviously Johnny Depp was spectacular, and I was particularly surprised by his vocals, which were extremely rough and reminded me of a rock-type voice. His performance as Sweeney Todd was my favorite by him; it was even better than his absolutely groundbreaking performance as Edward Scissorhands. Helena Bonham Carter was the best surprise; her vocals were sugary sweet and amazing, her acting was perfect, and Helena herself is quite stunning. Baron Cohen was hilarious as Pirelli, and it was great fun seeing him in that role. The scene where he sang was laugh-out-loud funny, and his character was quite a monster! Ed Sanders was fantastic as Toby, and he can really carry a note! Alan Rickman was just as deliciously evil as I was expecting him to be. His singing voice sounded exactly like his talking voice, but it worked well enough. Timothy Spall just annoys me; I don't know what it is exactly, but he just really annoys me. When he started to sing, I literally gasped aloud.
While I have never seen the play on Broadway, I think that Sweeney Todd was absolutely incredible. Tim Burton was the perfect director to helm the film, and the cast couldn't have been more perfect. The soundtrack and all of the songs were sensational, and the ending was simply poetic. Sweeney Todd was not just one of the best movies of 2007, but one of the best movies of all time.