Sweeney Todd - REVIEW

Tim Burton you magnificent bastard...you've done it again! In fact it could very well be your BEST. This delightfully demented story of a wrongfully imprisoned man who teams up with a struggling baker to rid the world of filth by grinding them up for meat in her pies...it's nothing short of a tour d'force. In shortening Sondheim's 3 hour stage musical into a neat 2 hours, the story clips along quite well, and given a nice shot of adrenaline by the songs, which alternate between normal singing and "talk-singing". Depp and Bonham Carter and...well...really everyone (even Alan Rickman who I never thought would prove to be even an OK singer) sing their parts to perfection. Does this mean they should all make albums? Of course not, but for the material they work brilliantly.

The lyrics are clever and they hit you fast, and the musical numbers, though they lack grand choreography, are nothing short of exhilarating. One of the film's best scenes comes when Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett begin examining the reasons why various people in the city deserve to be cut up into pies. What's perhaps most surprising though, is in the acting through song. Everyone had their doubts about Depp, but even heavier doubt (some of it quite nasty) was placed on Bonham Carter.

It is the ultimate ironic twist that she is actually better than Depp in the film. It may simply come down to a matter of the way the roles are written however (not to put down Ms. Carter....the woman is phenomenally talented and a joy to watch every second here). Mrs. Lovett has a bit more range, whereas Sweeney is more singleminded. If this had been Depp's "breakthrough role", perhaps I wouldn't feel the need to be critical, but we've seen what range Depp has, and in comparison with some of his other roles, Sweeney's single-mindedness makes him not the quite the show stopper I expected. That said, it's an excellent performance, and Depp's odd voice lends a certain rock and roll anguish to the role. Seeing as so many of the songs are set like conversations, Burton films them like conversations, and not like musical sequences, and it works marvelously. Visually, the film is a gothic delight. Most of the film could almost pass for being black and white, but even so, it's not unpleasant to look at.

For a bit of contrast, Burton gives us a handful of flashback shots (and one or two in the present) in color so stunning it could be Technicolor. And then there's the blood which shoots out in geysers (I was shocked to see a couple with a child no more than EIGHT in the theater...this is no kiddie movie AT ALL). What's perhaps the most surprising about the film though is how...well...oddly accurate it is in its portrayal of its time period. Everything is dim and gray for a reason....this Dickensian era was full of corruption and the bitter need to survive. Throughout the film, Rickman's Judge Turpin constantly justifies the horrible things he does, including sending a young child to the noose for a crime he probably didn't do. Not everything is perfect, however. The love story subplot between young sailor Anthony and Sweeney's daughter Johanna feels just a tad rushed (too much of a love-at-first-sight deal), but this does not prevent the film from being incredibly engaging, clever, and most of all, absolutely breathtaking. The story is so strong, the singing so perfectly executed, the production so haunting, and the vision is so spectacularly disturbed. Burton hasn't just created a breathtaking film...he's created a masterpiece. Honestly....if 2007 can keep raising the bar this late in the year, then I'd say that it's easily the strongest year for film of the decade.

Grade: A+

Current Nominations: Best Picture (#1 WINNER), Best Director - Tim Burton (#1 WINNER), Best Actor - Johnny Depp (#2), Best Actress - Helena Bonham Carter (#2), Best Adapted Screenplay (TIE #1 WINNER TIE), Best Editing (TIE #1 WINNER TIE), Best Costume Design (#1 WINNER), Best Cinematography (#3), Best Art Direction (#2), Best Makeup (#2), Best Sound (#3)