Some brilliant moments...some awful moments...

Rating: 6/10 (25 December 2007)

Let me preface this by saying Sweeney Todd is one of my all-time favorite Broadway shows and Sondheim my favorite composer. I am a HUGE fan of this show. (Most people will probably disagree with my complaints of this movie.) I sat through this movie with great expectations and was disappointed by a number of things, but enjoyed some aspects of this movie.
The good points are: the costumes and sets are incredible. With the exception of Helena Bonham Carter, I thought the rest of the casting was excellent. (I personally don't like HBC and her singing was so bad that I barely could get thru her songs without groaning or laughing at how bad she was singing.) Sondheim is hard enough for trained singers to perform, but relatively untrained singers like HBC have zero chance of making it work. Johnny Depp's singing was slightly better and not nearly as horribly distracting as HBC. Brilliant performances by Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Jayne Wisener, Sacha Baron Cohen (surprisingly!), Jamie Campbell Bower and Ed Sanders. Huzzah for getting that supporting cast!
The bad points: poor direction by Tim Burton! After Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton's directing has gone straight down the tubes and with Sweeney Todd, he really has hit the bottom of the barrel. The production was "Burton" stylized (been there, done that...OVER IT) and the acting always ends up taking a back seat to Burton's over-stylization. I really feel that there was little empathy in the character of Sweeney Todd. Not really Johnny Depp's fault if the director doesn't allow the character to develop properly. By the end, you're not sure if you should love or hate Sweeney Todd. Particularly when he realizes that he's killed his wife, you should feel something. I mostly felt disinterested. The movie ends up being about Tim Burton's "creativity with darkness" and less about the emotional baggage that all of these characters have and how they deal with it. I always feel that Burton doesn't think the acting is very important. Another disappointment was the cutting of so many great songs. I get why it was done, but I really miss hearing the entire score.
All in all, it was a fairly enjoyable movie, but not the next thing since sliced bread that people have been raving over. I'm glad I saw it, but I won't be purchasing the DVD and probably won't feel the need to see it again.