My review of the movie adaptation of Sweeney Todd. (From a long time Sweeney Fan Part)

Rating: 3/10 (23 December 2007)

They took out "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd". This is my first complaint about the movie adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd  The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, directed by Tim Burton. Secondly, pretty boy Johnny Depp could not sing bass so they raised the key, talking away from the true majesty that comes with the deep, dark voice of Sweeney. Helena Bonham Carter, Who played Mrs. Lovette was no Angela Lansberry, by any means; and furthermore, to add to the insult of the tragedy that is this movie, they took out half of the funniest puns in "Have a Little Priest"!
Sweeney Todd is a Dark COMEDY; however in this adaptation, they took out most of the comedy. Mrs. Lovette's first song, which starts off saying, "Wait! What's your rush? What's your hurry? You gave me such a fright, thought you was a ghost..." was by far one of the greatest disappointments yet in this film. While Johnny's silent performance in this song was commendable, the execution of the song was not, by any means, as comical as it was intended to be in the play form. The actress lacked enthusiasm, charisma, and cleverness!
To anyone who knows the musical Sweeney Todd, it is an indisputable fact that Mrs. Lovette is the comical relief of the show. She is the fun light hearted, yet twisted, entertaining character. She is the heart of Sweeney Todd. Without her in the show, Sweeney would just be to dark, and depressing. The performance, or the lack there of, by Helena Bonham Carter was just that, to dark and far to depressing. Instead of creating comical relief in the gloom of Sweeney's tragedy, she added to the miserable tone. Mrs. Lovette should be the meddling, gossiping, slightly insane, yet somehow lovable character that we all know and adore, even though it is well understood that she has several screws loose. She is the Ying to Sweeney's Yang.
As far as Tobias goes, he was probably one of the best performers there. Though I may have a few quarrels with some of his facial expressions during the performance of his songs "God that's Good" and "Mr. Pirelli's Miracle Elixir," his overall innocence (in appearance) and charm made up for any issues that come from being a young actor.
For once, I have finally seen the love story between Johanna (Jayne Wisener) and Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower) done correctly, even if they took out the song "Kiss Me." There was an innocence in Antony's love for Johanna that had been severely lacking in many stage adaptations I have seen.
While the love story may have been done well, the sub plot of Antony and Johanna was under played. Not to mention, the fact that by taking out the song "Kiss me" it eliminated some of the empathy felt for Johanna. The song describes how she would rather die than marry her adoptive father Judge Turpin.
Speaking of Judge Turpin. The casting of Alan Rickman was a splendid choice. Rickman Commanded any scene he was in and stole the show. His understanding of the character and execution of the role was astounding. Rickman is a truly amazing actor. He does not just play the role he owns it and becomes it. I could not have casted the role better my self. He was remarkable.
The beggar woman was completely PG rated down. In the play she is a beggar, but also a prostitute. In the first scene with the sailer, she solicits her self to him in a very crude manner and Anthony tells her to get lost; however, in the movie, there was no such reference.
I have a bone to pick with director Tim Burton. While the set and technical aspects of Sweeney Todd where amazing, some of the choices he made still baffle me. The elimination of the choirs was one of the biggest mistakes he could have possibly made. The creation of a narrative choirs helped explain what we may have missed in the songs, and also, shed light onto the "hard times" mentioned so often by Sweeney and Mrs. Lovette. London, England at this time in history was not all spic and span. Times were indeed hard, and the poor were many. Though, Tim Burton kept the music of the choirs in the movie, by eliminating the choirs' presence, he took away any explanation that was needed for the audience to have closer at the end of the movie. Not to mention the effect it had on songs such as: "God That's Good."
Another choice that was painful to me as a lover of Sweeney Todd, was the fact that Sweeney built his own chair. By talking away the anxiousness of Sweeney awaiting his chair, it made the fact that he had listened to Mrs. Lovette and waited, a bit less obvious; not to mention the fact that it hurt the song "God that's Good." In the play Sweeney Todd, the song, "God that's Good" is the opening of Act II. The beginning and end of an Act are supposed to be the most moving and stimulating songs of a musical performance. The choices Tim Burton made in "Have a Little Priest" and "God that's Good" made it so the audience was left hanging, and not in a a good way. To all Sweeney lovers, the quote "How 'bout royal marine... With or without his privates?..... With is extra." was taken out, along with other puns which made the rip roar laughter of this song vanish.
For the entire Review, go to http://www.myspace.com/theatrefreak4276 and look at the bog entitled "My Review on Sweeney Todd- The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"