A misanthropic masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (8 January 2008)

The third act was what really elevated it, for me, from another Burton near-miss of style over substance into a full-fledged Gothic masterpiece. I was worried that the film might end on a happy note, eschewing the tone of the film and following the format of Burton's recent family-friendly flicks, but it went for the throat, ending in an utterly brutal, unforgiving, and damn near misanthropic way. This is only complimented by the relatively light musical numbers, which contrasted perfectly with the dark subject matter to give the film a delightful warped sense of humour, something emphasized fantastically with the wonderfully bizarre and imaginative "By the Sea" montage. The singing is not overtly fantastic, but it adds to the actors' performance much better than over-the-top opera singing ever could. And, of course, the film is designed beautifully. This is an out-and-out masterpiece, coming from a man who had seemingly forgotten the meaning of that word.