Got me onside, surprisingly good

Rating: 9/10 (7 December 2007)

I am generally not a fan of musicals. I don't like the artifice of singing dialogue moments. I have no problem with singing in a movie but this grates on me. Take Dreamgirls for instance. For the most part i was fine with it, good songs, performed as performances with a narrative structure surrounding them. However once of twice it had songs in place of dialogue where characters were discussing things amongst themselves or some such thing and i just got annoyed. And yes i dislike all the classics like West Side Story for this very reason.
For about the first 20-30 minutes of Sweeney Todd I was having the same problem. This makes no bones about it being a musical. It's not Rex Harrison speak-sing, it's not staged songs in the middle of clumps of dialogue, it's pretty much all singing. Everything. Every sentiment, every emotion, every plan, every aside. Yet after about 20 minutes or so i got used to it and went with it and then just appreciated the wonderful dark humour and sheer entertainment quality of it.
Johnny Depp is great in the lead but he is complimented across the entire cast with Alan Rickman on fabulously villainous mode; Timothy Spall wonderfully revolting an Beadle Bamford - Rickman's henchman; and Helena Bonham Carter hilariously off-centre with all the best lines. It also has a star making turn from a brilliant child actor, Edward Sanders. Much better than the now ubiquitous Freddie Highmore (who got his big break with Depp in Finding Neverland before rejoining him (with Burton) in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory) he seems destined to have a great career potentially.
The film's greatest achievement however is how Burton has translated it to screen. This is a purely film musical. It never feels stagey. Unlike recent films like The Producers, Dreamgirls, Chicago which felt largely like they'd stuck a camera in a theatre and just filmed the show here Burton is brave enough to create a cinematic musical using all the tricks of his craft. That is never feels like it belongs anywhere but on a cinema screen is a huge testament to Burton's skill in the translation and I hope the Academy is intelligent enough to recognise this come the Oscars next year.
The dark humour is great, the look is stunning, Depp is gloriously unhinged while remaining believable. Even if, like me, you don't generally like this type of musical i think you'll get swept up in Sweeney Todd and enjoy it. Bravo Mr Burton.