Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Tim Burton gets credit for effort. His visual style of filmmaking is perfectly suited to this task, and it was brave of him to even think of taking on a musical to begin with. But he is no musical director. The first song that popped up onscreen elicited snickers from the audience I was in, and it wasn't the first time it happened.
The numbers often came awkwardly to life, happening sometimes in midstep or even in mid-sentence. The blocking of the choreography was not too inspired either. A few numbers took place in small rooms where the characters basically stood around and made dramatic faces while they sang. There were no Oliver Twist-like reveries with people dancing on tabletops, or elaborate dramatics of play-acting that would foreshadow their awful deeds to come. I daresay that Burton may have given us something interesting enough had there been no musical numbers at all.
There were other minor issues I had with this film, one being that of a superfluous side plot with a starry-eyed youth who falls in love with Todd's virtuous daughter. It was frustrating, boring, and wasn't necessary, instead only slowing the forward momentum of the pacing down to a crawl. Another was the casting of Johnny Depp himself. Not that he was bad, or ill-suited for a musical. But I would have liked to have seen someone with a more imposing figure, someone not so (dare I say) almost genteel. I think Sweeney Todd needed to be played with a lot of swagger and rage, a kind of mad scientist that chitters crazily with glee while the camera fails to shy away from his violent actions (think Nicholson's Joker). Depp played him more like a sinuous snake, crooning while waltzing around his victim. Someone like Daniel Day-Lewis or a younger version of Tom Wilkinson might have served better. But as it stands, Sweeney Todd is an intriguing dish to uncover, though not always palatable. Certainly not quite Best Picture quality material, as it is currently being touted by some critics, but it's something that should be tried at least once, like any dish.
Originality = A
DVD Features = N/A
Acting = B+
Enjoyability = B+
Visuals = A- (minus for CGI blood and guts that looked borrowed from Beowulf)
Overall = B+
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