Stunning...

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2008)

As a big fan of Tim Burton, I came to see this movie expecting all of his 'trademarks'- rebellious main characters with crazy black hair, panning opening credits, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter & a unique Gothic style. But I got so much more. The music was great- I was not a big fan of Sondheim before seeing the film but am starting to like him more and more.
Depp put in a great performance well worth his Academy Award nomination- but I was shocked that Helena Bonham Carter didn't get nominated for an Oscar (she did get a Golden Globe nomination) because I thought she was absolutely amazing- however I was told my a friend that her performance was quite different from how the character is played in the show.
The story follows Benjamin Barker (Depp) , who is sent to Australia for 15 years for a crime he didn't commit- and then returns as Sweeney Todd, taking vengeance on the judge (Alan Rickman) who purposely exported him. He starts a sort of relationship with Mrs. Lovett (Bonham Carter, beautiful as always)- who owns a pie shop below his old barber shop and recognises him from 15 years ago. Sweeney goes a bit mad and decides that everyone in the world deserves to die. He and Mrs. Lovett create a plan to kill everyone who comes for a shave at his shop and then turn them into meat for he pies. At this point the film switches from a story of Sweeney's revenge on the judge to him and Mrs. Lovett killing everyone. Blood starts to spurt in an (sort of) hilarious scene which includes the violent slashing of customer's necks. Things get more complicated as Mrs. Lovett expresses her desire to marry Sweeney (in one of the best scenes of the film- the song "By The Sea"). Eventually blood continues to pour until all the characters have died (except three).
Burton outdoes himself in on of his best films yet- and the cast is great, all with good voices for non-professionaly trained singers (Bonham Carter especially. A must for any Burton fan.
The blood is plentiful but as long as it's just blood it still has a slightly comedic affect.
The film can best be summed up as a cross between 'Moulin Rouge' and James Whale's 'Frankenstein'.