The best musical adaptation going around

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2008)

Musical theatre films has been in vogue in the last few years but the thing about most of them is that they are really just a stage show with film cameras and haven't really allowed the capabilities of film to flex it's muscles. Not so with Sweeney Todd; a wonderful marriage between Stephen Sondheim's dark neo-baroque musical score and Tim Burton's visual nous.
The thing that grabs you straight away as soon as the film starts is the atmosphere. It doesn't so much introduce itself as grab you by the shirt and immerse you in a dark, grimy Victorian London. Not to give too much away, Sweeney Todd ( Johnny Depp ) has returned after being sent to a penal colony for a crime he was set-up for by Judge Turpin ( Alan Rickman ), in order to obtain Todd's wife. Todd burns for revenge and with the help of Mrs Lovett ( Helena Bonham Carter ), he begins to plot his way towards the evil judge and his henchman, the Beadle ( Timothy Spall ).
All very well, but we are talking about a cast that has never sang in film before- a big ask then to take on one of the most harmoniously complex scores in musical theatre. But actually, they do very well. Depp sounds somewhat like an early David Bowie and his performance as Todd is great to watch as he goes from rage to catatonia and everywhere in between. Bonham Carter makes the role of Mrs Lovett hers and doesn't overplay the humour, just allowing the audience to pick up on it without labouring.
As for the two villains, Rickman and Spall seem to be having the time of their lives as the repulsive Turpin and Bamford respectively. Rickman's voice is naturally lended to singing bass ( his duet with Depp in 'Pretty Women' is a highlight ) and he does a wonderful job conveying the judge's lechery while Spall is so oily it's almost visible on the screen.
The real surprise is Sacha Baron Cohen as Pirelli, who steals the scene in the shaving contest with some great singing and acting.
Sweeney Todd does not have the musical talent of the show, but it does have better acting talent and atmosphere. And in a musical like this, that's no bad thing.