Serial Killer Barber of Fleet Street

Rating: 10/10 (20 April 2008)

A musical of dark comedy filled with blood and gore whose cast is led by an actor who has never sung before. Feeling skeptical? Sound like the makings of a disaster? Well, rest assured that SWEENEY TODD THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET also known simply as Sweeney Todd does deliver its goods. Under the masterful direction of Tim Burton ("Corpse Bride", "Planet of the Apes"), it is a musical that is both dark and humorous, horrific and artistic.
PLOT
Sweeney Todd actually has a fairly simple general plot. The movie recounts a tale of vengeance and insanity as Sweeney Todd embarks down a bloody path of revenge against the corrupted Judge Turpin who has wronged him. However, this character piece begins to increase in complexity as the various sub-plots of the characters' emotional involvement and plans begin to unfold such as the romantic love story between young sailor, Anthony Hope and the beautiful captive, Johanna Barker. It is pleasing to note that Sweeney Todd does succeed in that aspect as its complexity does not make the movie mind-boggling and incomprehensible. Instead, its complexity merely adds a depth to the movie which brings it to life.
CHARACTER
The cast of characters that inhabit the world of the movie is a cast of fascinating, intriguing and downright insane characters. Leading the cast with murderous intent is Sweeney Todd, the demon barber himself who kills with shaving tools. Johnny Depp once again displays his versatility and ingenuity, bringing Sweeney Todd to life as a vengeful soul, born of unfortunate circumstance. Acting as his love interest is Helena Bonham Carter in the role of Mrs Lovett, her skills pulling the audience in to empathize with her in her unrequited love of Todd and her life as a colourful woman buried in the darkness of poverty. Also, playing opposite Todd as the villainous Judge Turpin with a skewed perception on justice is Alan Rickman, breathing a soul into a character that could have been a one-dimensional monster. And, the rest of the cast is no less brilliant in their portrayal of their characters that allow the audience to feel with and for the characters. However, I personally feel that the characters of Johanna Barker, portrayed by Jayne Wisener, and Anthony Hope, portrayed by Jamie Campbell Bower, were not given enough screen time to capture the audience's heart which rendered their tragic romance story a little less emotionally involved than it should have been. Thus, it fails to become a moving element of the movie, merely remaining as just another a sub-plot.
MUSIC
Setting the mood for the movie is the songs which have been composed by the talented Stephen Soundheim, whose creativity shines clearly in this movie. The score for the movie is excellent, its dramatic undertones complementing the movie in every way without drawing the audience's attention away from it. His love for the radical leaps off the screen in his dark but witty lyrics on Mrs Lovett's 'meat pies' in 'A Little Priest' to the disturbing intensity of Todd's crumbling sanity in 'Epiphany'.
Sweeney Todd is an excellent movie with amazing emotional depth and complexity. However, it may not be very suitable for the general audience as it deals with somewhat disturbing content like cannibalism, senseless murder and corruption. And, audience's of a younger age group is advised to watch this movie with a parent as it can be terrifying and emotionally disturbing. Aside from that with a mixture of contradicting elements that work surprisingly well, Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street has undeniably found a place in the movie archive as a dark musical that will remain unforgettable.