Johnny Depp Made Blood Flow in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Written: Jan 21 '08 (Updated Sep 19 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: Wonderful performance by Depp. Entertaining musical.
Cons: Will be too bloody for some people.
The Bottom Line: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was a very entertaining, though twisted, musical that is worth seeing. Fans of Johnny Depp should give it a chance.
dragonfire88's Full Review: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Johnny Depp has played many different types of characters over the course of his career, many of which have been unique or quirky in some way. He has worked with Tim Burton several times in some very entertaining movies. When I first heard that Johnny Depp was going to star in the movie version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, I wanted to see it even without really knowing what it was about. I planned for months to go see it opening day and even made sure I'd have that day off work and then the theater here didn't get it. I was very irritated by that until I finally saw that the movie was coming January 18, 2008.
Sweeney Todd was returning to London after having been gone for years. Once off the ship, he shared a story with a young man named Anthony about a barber and his beautiful wife. The barber had been convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. Sweeney made his way to Fleet Street and the pie shop owned by Mrs. Lovett. After they talked briefly, she recognized Sweeney as Benjamin Barker, the barber from the story. He had changed his name because he planned to get revenge on Judge Turpin, the man who set him up. Mrs. Lovett shared that Turpin had taken in Barker’s daughter Johanna as his ward after his wife took poison.
Sweeney set up a barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop while he plotted his revenge. Anthony managed to discover Johanna and started trying to find a way to be with her despite the fact that Judge Turpin intended to keep her for himself. Sweeney seemed to lose what little grasp on sanity he had when he failed to take revenge when an opportunity presented itself. He started to kill customers while still hoping to ultimately get his revenge on Turpin and Mrs. Lovett found a unique way to dispose of the bodies.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is the movie version of Stephen Sondheim’s musical that debuted on Broadway in 1979. There have been a few revivals of the show since then. Since I never saw the stage version, I don’t know exactly what was changed for the movie. I did read that the movie was about an hour shorter than the stage version, so I know some things were cut. I did read some things that indicated that there have been several stories about Sweeney Todd, some claiming that the basic story was based on real events.
Since Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was a musical, music played a very important part in everything that was going on. All of the music fit in very well with what was happening. The music itself was a bit creepy sounding in places, which fit perfectly with the plot. The songs added a lot of explanations and helped to move the action forward throughout the movie. From some things I read about the stage version, I think some songs were cut from the movie version. I know that new songs were written specifically for other movie versions of some musicals. I don’t think that was done for this movie, though I could be wrong. There was only a little bit of actual speaking throughout the movie. Most things were shared through the songs, so people that aren’t overly fond of musicals to begin with may not be happy with that aspect of the movie. I did think the few spoken parts explained certain things or shared essential information, so I’m glad that all the dialogue wasn’t cut.
Most of the musicals I have seen over the years have been mostly upbeat overall. Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street wasn’t upbeat or cheerful in any way, but I still really enjoyed it and think it is worth seeing. It could be too dark for people who tend to prefer the more cheerful or upbeat musicals. I did think it was more like a horror movie than many musicals, a trait that it shares with Phantom of the Opera (2004). Both of those musicals are a bit twisted and won’t appeal to everyone.
The movie had a darker tone overall and even had a dark look for the most part. A more subdued color palette overall was used for the movie, which worked very well to compliment the subject. The fact that the lighting was so dark during a few scenes may bother some viewers. Brighter colors did turn up a few times, mostly during By the Sea when Mrs. Lovett was sharing a fantasy of living by the sea with Sweeney and the short flashbacks that showed Benjamin before his life was ruined. Anytime any blood was shown, it was a bright, vibrant red which contrasted strongly with the more subdued overall palette. Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett looked pale through most of the movie and Sweeney had dark circles around his eyes like he rarely slept. It did seem like the dark circles got more intense during certain scenes, like when Sweeney went over the edge. At one point, I even noticed some red around his eyes. Late in the movie, the dark circles turned up on another character, making me think they were supposed to indicate that characters had been pushed over the edge.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was very violent during a few key scenes. Once Sweeney started to kill his customers, there were many murders and a lot of blood gushing all over the place. The way the blood gushed wasn’t realistic, so it really didn’t bother me that much. The movie will be too violent for some people. From some things I read about the stage version, I believe the movie is much bloodier, so that might even bother some people who have enjoyed the stage version. There were a few bits of humor here and there that did help to lighten the mood. Just the way characters said certain lines or looked during certain scenes did make me laugh a bit. The fantasy sequence when Mrs. Lovett sang about living by the sea probably got the most laughs just from the way Sweeney was shown.
Sweeney Todd was not a happy man when he arrived in London. He had been convicted of a crime he hadn’t committed fifteen years before and he decided to return to the city to get his revenge. He seemed haunted by his past and his desire for revenge took over every aspect of his life, until he was fully consumed and started killing off his customers. Johnny Depp once again impressed me with his wonderful performance. He became Sweeney and made the character believable. I was also very impressed with Depp’s singing and think he handled that part of the character very well. I do believe that he deserved the Golden Globe he won for this performance.
Mrs. Lovett was struggling to keep her pie shop in business despite the fact that she made the worst pies in London. It didn’t take long for her to recognize Sweeney as Benjamin Barker and she was happy to set him up above her pie shop despite the fact that he did show some unstable moments. She really wasn’t too concerned when Sweeney started murdering people, especially once she thought up her unique idea for dealing with the bodies. Helena Bonham Carter fit the part and handled the singing very well. The character was a bit dark and twisted, but not as much as Bellatrix Lestrange, the character she played in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Toby was a young boy who ended up working in the pie shop. He became very protective of Mrs. Lovett.
Anthony really wasn’t a main character, but the subplot dealing with his attraction to Johanna was important to what was going on. It had seemed like he and Sweeney had sort of become friends on the ship during their journey to London and Anthony turned to Sweeney when he needed help. Jamie Campbell Bower was very good in the part. Johanna’s part was smaller, but also important. She had been raised very sheltered from everyone locked inside the Judge’s home. She did seem to be a sweet young woman and it would have been nice if just a bit more connected to her had been included.
Judge Turpin was the crooked judge who wrongly convicted Benjamin because he lusted after his wife. Turpin saw nothing wrong with what he did and had kept Johanna under lock and key for years as his ward until she was old enough for him to marry. He didn’t have a problem abusing his power or position to get what he wanted. I loved Alan Rickman in the part, including when he sang. Rickman is wonderful at playing bad characters like the ones he has played in Die Hard and the Harry Potter movies. Timothy Spall, another actor that has been in the Harry Potter movies, played Beadle Bamford, a man who worked for the judge and was just as corrupt. Spall fit the part really well. I also thought he did well with his part in Enchanted playing yet another villainous character.
Sacha Baron Cohen was really good as Signor Adolfo Pirelli, a rival barber, even though he only had a few scenes. Cohen did a very good job with the singing. A beggar woman turned up in a few scenes. She knew more than people thought she did. Laura Michelle Kelly did a good job with the small part. I did spot Anthony Stewart Head, the man who played Giles on the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, briefly in one scene. He originally was going to have a larger part, but unfortunately it was cut. I would have loved to have seen him have a larger part and get to sing.
Main Cast
Helena Bonham Carter - Mrs. Lovett Jamie Campbell Bower - Anthony Sacha Baron Cohen - Signor Adolfo Pirelli Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd Laura Michelle Kelly - Beggar Woman Alan Rickman - Judge Turpin Ed Sanders - Toby Timothy Spall - Beadle Bamford Jayne Wisener - Johanna
Tim Burton - Director
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was a very entertaining musical that was full of wonderful performances. I do think it is worth seeing, though it will be too twisted and bloody for some people. I’m already looking forward to getting the DVD. I’m hoping for a lot of good extras.
Johnny Depp and Tim Burton join forces again in a big-screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical thriller "Sweeney Todd." Depp star...More at HotMovieSale.com
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