Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber from fleet street
“There was a barber and his wife, and she was beautiful. A foolish barber and his wife, she was his reason and his life, and she was beautiful. And she was virtuous. And he was— Naive. There was another man who saw that she was beautiful, A pious vulture of the law, who with a gesture of his claw removed the barber from his plate. Then there was nothing but to wait and she would fall, so soft, so young, so lost, and oh, so beautiful!”
Above are the lyrics to the first song in the movie, No place like London. This is the basic premise of the whole movie and the reason for Sweeney Todd’s (Johnny Depp) angst and rage. A young barber named Benjamin Barker lived happily with his wife Lucy and daughter Johanna. But the despicable Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) fell in love with Barker’s wife and wrongfully accused Barker of a crime he never committed and was sent to Australia…
Sweeney Todd has arrived, another Tim Burton movie starring real-life Tim Burton character Johnny Depp… You can never go wrong there, even now with the addition of another real-life Tim Burton character, Helena Bonham Carter. A movie full of Vengeance, death, and blood blended ever so brilliantly with the vivid songs from the original musical. So, the movie is basically a Tim Burton movie with singing and dancing. Still not enticed? Add two Harry Potter Death Eaters Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) and Peter Pettigrew played by (Timothy Spall) into the mix and you get probably one of the most macabre movie in history. Oh, and don’t forget the best meat pies in London. Yup, this movie will make you lick your lips the next time you see a meat pie.
The lowered contrasts of the background and semi-gothic make-up of the main characters put together with the vibrant and bright red of blood, the Tim Burton exaggerated blood to be exact sets the dark and eerie mood of the movie. The cinematography was sheer genius with the shadowy effects which allowed Burton to capture 19th century London.
Johnny Depp surprised the world with a merciless performance and decent singing voice that complemented the deep and daunting voice of Alan Rickman. Of course, Helena Bonham Carter would not be out-staged since this was not her first musical with Tim Burton either. Sacha Baron Cohen also shares his musical talent and humor to this already morbidly star-studded film.
The impression of this film is so powerful. The Protagonists and anti-heroes of the movie have been is one way or anther, scorned while the bad guys are vile and malevolent to the core. All these play out together in a juncture, a stage in which rules out decorum and sympathy.
Just a word of caution: This film is not a children’s film. Mind you, you will see blood and gore that will make Kill Bill seem like a long episode of Barney the purple dinosaur (Ok, I exaggerated but you get my drift). This movie will send chills down your spine, in more than one way.
