An Intense, Mature Musical

Rating: 7/10 (21 January 2019)

25 December 2007. Less than either Moulin Rouge (2001) and Chicago (2002) but more than Evita (1996), Sweeny Todd incorporated dialogue in much less quantity than most musicals except for Evita which was exclusively sung. This dark musical fused dark humor in the beginning and was photographed in dank and black colors. Sweeney Todd based on the musical of the same name, did not take as much advantage of the theatrical film format as did Mouline Rouge or Chicago and many sequences seemed more like a Broadway production. Except for the subject matter and its R-Rating presentation of blood and gore, this musical while entertaining, compelling didn't forge new ground. The beginning of Sweeny Todd was reminiscent of Mouline Rouge in many ways...the look, the presentation, the setting. The songs themselves while eerily appealing had by the end much of the same tone, same flavor, same blend of sound unlike other musicals. Johnny Depp was exciting and compelling to watch, his expressions, his performance delivery. Perhaps, this musical is one for our times, reflective in an age of death, war, and torture. It is also a reflects on the demise and moral ambiguity of revenge and its descent into the furnace of hell. It is the the naiveté of the youth and the unfortunate abuse of youth that has made some of the have to grow up and take up responsibility far too early. Whether or not this strong social message is sufficient to survive time to maintain this musicals status as a great musical remains to be seen. Otherwise, it will descend itself into a period piece as a good but not classic movie. Seven out of Ten Stars.