Brooke, with her occasionally odd taste in movies (“No Country For Old Men,” anyone?) decided she wanted to see Tim Burton‘s “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. In actuality, I think she wanted to see it mostly because it was featured prominently in Kevin Smith‘s “Jersey Girl,” which she enjoyed quite a bit.
In all honesty, I kinda wanted to see it, too. I very much liked “Sleepy Hollow” a few years back, also by Burton and starring Depp, and a). reviews were quite good for it, and b). who knew Depp could sing? Well, he can…and surprisingly well.
The movie centers upon one Benjamin Barker, a skilled barber, who is wrongfully imprisoned by a corrupt judge (Alan Rickman) that fancies Barker’s wife. Barker returns 15 years later to find his wife dead, his young daughter now grown up and being raised by the judge, and he wants revenge. He begins to cut hair (and throats) in the old building he used to work in, now owned by Carter’s character, Mrs. Lovett.
Now, this is not your typical musical. The score is beautiful, yet haunting. The characters sing to each other, but there are no dancing choruses in the background. Brooke tells me, from what she’s heard, the musical numbers were changed rather dramatically from the stage version, yet the this one has the blessing of its author, Steven Sondheim. (note: if you find that article, Brooke, post that for the folks…) So yeah, the singing is prominent, yet not as in other musicals. The singing is almost spoken, in some ways, but there’s definite melody to each song. Kinda hard to explain…you’ll just have to watch… 😛
I thought it was pretty good, in the end. It had a few twists and turns, and quite a few…”quirky”…moments (as per other Tim Burton films…), the acting was solid, and the cast did surprisingly well with their singing. It was kinda hard for me to understand the words in some of the earlier songs (with the thick olde English accents…), but once they got into their groove, it was very easy to follow.
I will warn you, however, that it was quite bloody. Not really “gore,” per se…more like fountains of red… I’m sure this aspect is similar to the stage version(s), but Tim Burton likes to be “over the top” with such things. It was also rather disturbing to listen to the woman sitting behind us laughing every time Johnny Depp killed someone and dropped their bodies down to the sewers…
It’s worth seeing, especially if you like Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movies… Otherwise, it’s a nice change-of-pace from your typical fare out this time of year. Depp will likely be nominated for Best Actor awards for this one…and it’s easy to see why…
No Country for Old Men was good!
I also saw Into the Wild and Juno both recently. Both were very good. Check out Juno especially Andy.
I’m glad you write these movie reviews, since they’re very informative and our movie tastes are decently similar. Based on this I think I’ll probably check out Sweeney Todd.
Yeah, “Juno” is one I’d like to see…I dunno if I’ll make it out to the theater to see it though, as I have seen quite a few movies in the last month… 😛
And thanks, Kai…glad someone reads them!
There was a gal on the radio this morning who had seen the movie over the weekend and she said she laughed at the gore. She said the “blood” they used wasn’t the usual, more realistic movie blood but more of the ‘theatre’ blood that doesn’t look real at all. Either way, she really liked the movie as well. But apparently she has a thing for Johnny Depp and I think would like anything he does! Juno looks really good. It’s on my list to rent when it comes out on DVD.
yeah, i laughed quite a lot at Depp singing his song and killing all those people, so i would have disturbed you as well. not that i don’t, already.
i agree, it was a very atypical film that was really well executed, and Johnny Depp acquitted himself quite well (somewhat unsurprisingly, except for the singing). i didn’t think it was overwhelmingly different from musicals in general, so much as just different from the Andrew Lloyd Webber type stuff.
and yeah Juno was excellent. it was extremely funny and well-acted, and managed to be humorous without trivializing teenage pregnancy, which is no mean feat. the girl that plays Juno is also an excellent actress. so i’d recommend it highly.