Come and Visit Your Good Friend Sweeney

Rating: 8/10 (30 December 2019)

Now, don't get me wrong. I love musicals. However Sondheim has never been one of my favourite composers. I find his scores rather depressing and more focused on storytelling much to Webber's dismay, where he does the songs in order to focus on the present. This was very much present in 2014's Into The Woods. This and Into The Woods have a very similar score. Nevertheless, Sweeney Todd is a hidden masterpiece that is truly one of the most horrifying stories about vengeance ever told, perfectly through Tim Burton's gruesome direction.
The film opens to a river of blood, flowing through machinery until finally arriving a river ("Opening Scene"). On a boat, almost docking at London bay, we meet two strangers, Mr. Anthony Hope and Mr. Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) as the two talk about their plans of what they'll do when they finally dock ("No Place Like London"). Todd reminisces of the last time he was in London: Fifteen years prior, where he was falsely convicted by Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who longed for his wife. Todd arrives at a meat pie shop run by Ms. Nellie Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) ("The Worst Pies In London").
Mrs. Lovett brings Todd upstairs to where her former neighbour Benjamin Barker had his barber shop. Todd reveals himself as Benjamin Barker and asks about what happened to his wife Lucy and daughter Johanna. Lovett responds by stating that Lucy was sexually assaulted by Turpin and poisoned herself, and Johanna now lives in Turpin's ward ("Poor Thing"). Lovett then presents Todd with his old razors, where he swears to seek revenge on Turpin ("My Friends"). Elsewhere, Anthony encounters a pretty girl who sings by her window ("Green Finch and Linnet Bird"). Anthony asks a beggar woman, and she responds Johanna ("Johanna").
Todd and Lovett arrive at a marketplace to encounter the city's best barber Pirelli. Pirelli's young assistant, Toby, sings of Pirelli's elixir, promising that hair will grow in less than a week. Todd fights back, causing Adolfo Pirelli (Sacha to take matters into his own hands ("Pirelli's Miracle Elixir"). The two have a shaving contest, judged by Turpin's henchman, Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall). Todd wins ("The Contest"). The following afternoon, Pirelli shows up to Todd's shop, revealing himself to be Davy Collins, Todd's former henchman. Collins threatens Todd that he will take 50% of the profits Todd makes. Todd brutally murders him, leaving Toby in Lovett's clutches. Lovett attempts to calm Todd down ("Wait").
Johanna, having noticed Anthony, throws him down a key to her room. Turpin visits Todd that same day, where he announces that he will marry Johanna to Todd. Todd mildly threatens to kill Turpin, but is interrupted by Anthony, revealing his plans to elope with Johanna ("Pretty Women"). Turpin storms out, angered. Anthony, having ruined Todds plan, forces him out. Lovett returns to Todd, where he states that "We all deserve to die", finally losing his marbles ("Epiphany"). Lovett condemns his plan by building a chair that leads Todd's victims into Lovett's bakehouse, where she will cook them into meat pie ("A Little Priest"). Anthony heads to Johanna's, but notices that she has been taken away to Fogg's Asylum by Turpin.
A few days later, Mrs. Lovett and Toby celebrate the re-opening of her pie shop, now with "better tasting" ingredients ("God That's Good"). Todd continuously murders his victims, almost for fun. On a day off, Lovett tells Todd of her plans to marry him and move to a city by the sea, but Todd does not listen ("By The Sea"). Anthony tells Todd of Johanna's current state. Todd tells him to disguise himself as a wig maker, where then he can get into the asylum. The plan goes off without a hitch. Toby feels something is off with Todd and swears Mrs. Lovett his life if Todd were ever to harm her. After noticing that Lovett has Pirelli's wallet, Toby threatens to call Turpin in, but Lovett distracts him by showing Toby the bakehouse. After showing him how to work the machinery, Lovett locks Toby in ("Not While I'm Around").
Beadle arrives at Lovett's shop, after getting too many complaints of the stench erupting from the chimneys. Todd offers to groom Beadle before the inspection, which he accepts. Todd then kills him and sends him down to the bakehouse, where Toby gets startled. Lovett and Todd go searching for Toby, but assumes that he fled in the sewers. Meanwhile, Anthony demands Johanna hide in Todd's shop while he finds them a coach. There, the beggar woman rushes in, but is swiftly killed by Todd after hearing Turpin's voice. Todd finally murders Turpin and threatens to kill Johanna before hearing Lovett scream from the bakehouse. Downstairs, Lovett attempts to get the beggar woman in the oven before Todd can notice that it is indeed his former wife, Lucy, who poisoned herself but lived and went crazy. Lovett reveals her love for Todd, but Todd feels cheated and throws her into the oven. Todd drops his razor and holds Lucy in his hands, when he is finally killed by Toby ("Final Scene").
Now, Sweeney Todd is not for the faint of heart. Ironically, the plot is very heavy, but the film is very slow-paced, especially In its first act. All of the actors do phenomenal jobs with what they are given, but the two that really stand out are Johnny Depp and Ed Sanders (Toby). Although Bonham Carter's performance is good and critically praised, she holds nothing to the broadway people who have played Lovett. Sanders is creepily unsettling throughout the film and Depp goes full madness and ironically, he does not feel like the villain of the film. The villain is the mind.
Overall Score: Sweeney Todd gets a 7.8 which rounds up to an 8