Sweeney Todd
Having been framed for a crime he did not commit fifteen years earlier, Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) returns to Victorian London to exact his revenge. Opening a barber shop under the assumed identity of Sweeney Todd, his hatred of mankind spurs him to murder his customers. Todd then dumps the bodies in the basement of a bakery run by the widowed Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who uses the victims' flesh to bake meat pies that become the toast of London society.
Original Goth Tim Burton is the obvious choice to lens this macabre story, but he misses the mark. When Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway in 1979, audiences responded to its tongue-in-cheek humour. But Burton fails to develop the comedy, choosing incorrectly to portray the story as serious. And with real-life cannibals such as Jeffrey Dahmer in the news, it now seems insensitive to contemporary sensibilities.
That the stage show was ever popular is a mystery itself. Composed by Stephen Sondheim, whose biggest hits (Company, Follies, Pacific Overtures, Sunday in the Park with George) are unknown outside of Broadway circles, he has yet to write a memorable tune. In fact, his choppy melodies have always been difficult to sing, even for accomplished vocalists.
Depp is smart enough to know he does not have the singing talent to pull it off and, hence, chants his way through most of the songs. It would not be fitting for his character to have a beautiful voice anyway, and the rough and scratchy monotone that Depp projects is more appropriate for his on-screen actions. The always intriguing Bonham Carter fares better, but will never be offered a recording contract.
As with all Burton�s films, Sweeney Todd is lushly atmospheric with an underlying creepiness. But a film does not have to be visually dark to be dark in mood�it�s an insult to the actors and production team to assume they cannot handle such a goal. While the entire film is shot in muted shades of grey and brown -- which helps to tone down the endless shots of squirting blood -- the drab visuals soon become tiresome. The only colour appears in one fantasy sequence and the brief flashbacks to Barker�s former life. Like Dorothy in the Land of Oz, his happiness is matched by hues that are bright and luminous, while their reality is colourless and dull.
Burton also tries far too hard to make the film an artistic statement, as opposed to entertainment. And under his doleful direction, one never feels the loneliness or desperation of the characters. Neither villain nor hero, Todd, with his set of silver razors, comes off as an older Edward Scissorhands (also played by Depp) who has turned to the dark side�Fans expecting a lovable rogue like Depp�s Captain Jack Sparrow will be shocked and disappointed. The cast also includes Alan Rickman as the ruthless judge who wanted Barker/Todd out of the way so he could steal his wife Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly) and child Johanna (Jayne Wisener), the androgynous Jamie Campbell Bower as a sailor infatuated with the now teenaged Johanna, and Sacha Baron Cohen as an Italian dandy.
It is no wonder the television ads, for the most part, disguise the fact that this film is a musical, fearing lack of public interest despite the successes of Chicago and Hairspray. These latter musicals were rousing, toe-tapping good times, whereas Sweeney Todd is anything but joyful. A bizarre film that helps to kill time, it will not be remembered as a perfect crime. Rating: 5 out of 10.