More senseless horror than sensible drama

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2009)

Maybe horror and musical genre don't go together too well after all. Maybe that's the reason why this film never really dragged me in. But one thing is for sure: If you're neither a horror movie nor a strong musical fan but prefer drama, Johnny Depps performance as well as those of his fellow actors are not enough to make the film work for you.
Actually the singing is fine - for example compared to the also amateur performances of the male actors in "Mamma Mia" - but dramatic effects are just not played out and cut short - possibly due to the genre approach - which results in a loss for the story.
I guess we are to observe that Sweeney is so full of revenge and hatred that his personality is corrupted, especially after his first attempt on the judge fails. Being Sweeney now and no longer Benjamin he cannot even see what might be still to rescue of the bits and pieces of his former life and destroys the rest of it as profoundly as he can. Only a coincidence prevents him from even killing his own daughter, not recognizing her, while her rescue is undertaken by his friend who is only scarcely supported by Sweeney for Sweeney is much too busy taking revenge. Finally he is judged himself, leaving lots of dramatic story ends loose.
It's always difficult to identify and feel with a character who doesn't deserve it anymore - we are to understand him as being a tragical one, but even that doesn't fully work because he is just too dead hearted to be tragical. Maybe the whole thing would work better the other way round: Getting to know Sweeney at first without knowing anything of his past, which would be revealed only step by step while the story goes.