Review

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2008)

Sweeny Todd tells the legendary tale of a man who loses his wife and daughter to a corrupt judge, is sent to prison unjustly, and comes back to exact revenge. The whole history of the story is rather convoluted but apparently it might have started as a true story and was converted from a legend, to novels, to a Broadway musical, to several movie adaptations. The most recent of which, directed by Tim Burton, is musical film drawing mostly from the Broadway play.
Sweeny Todd is probably my favorite movie of the year next to There Will Be Blood. The movie is the combined effort of regular collaborators Tim Burton, Jonny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter. The film has Tim Burton's signature style all over it with its dark macabre look, its dark macabre romance, and its dark macabre everything else. But that's okay because it works. Probably the first thing people will notice about the movie is that it's a musical. Though you don't usually think of serial killers and musicals at the same time, Sweeny Todd really makes it work and the music, credited to Stephen Sondheim, is excellently written. The performances in Sweeny Todd are very good as well. Jonny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter work wonderfully together while Alan Rickman and young newcomer Ed Sanders do extremely well also.
Overall, This is a great movie and I highly recommend it. The level of violence may get to some people (not many these days) but if that doesn't bother you then by all means, see it. I didn't really like musicals as a kid so if I can enjoy this as much as I did than I'm sure you can too.