Movie Review: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

*This entry has been brought over from my Facebook account, where I had written a movie review via the Movies application. I watched Sweeney Todd when it was first released in theaters back in December. It will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray, pun intended, on April Fools Day, 2008.


It was a mixture of elements that echoed Moulin Rouge's digitally fabricated city, a torn and twisted soul like Phantom, and a rehashing of a few memorable Harry Potter actors (Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, and Timothy Spall), this film is a hodgepodge of a stunning spectacle. When Johnny Depp p...(read more)ulled out the razors, his "friends," I even caught a glimpse of Edward Scissorhands in there. Perhaps an ode to the old character he portrayed? After all, Tim Burton directed both Scissorhands and Sweeney. One cannot ignore the blatant similarity between Edward and Sweeney based solely on the fact that they were blade wielders.

As a huge lover of musical theatre, I anticipated that Sweeney Todd had "singing." I had heard of people being put off because they had expected to see a horror film and did in fact cringe with horror when watching it. They cringed in horror when Johnny Depp started to sing. If you don't dig musicals or can't get over yourself to hear Depp sing, then I suggest you watch the film anyway just to get over it. It's an easy film that bridges between both art forms. I promise you that you won't start belting The Sound of Music tunes the next day just because you watched one musical.

As for Depp's individual performance, it is needless to say that he is, as expected, brilliant. However the supporting cast rounds does a splendid job of rounding out the entire film for the bacbone. There is an amusing appearance by Borat. I mean that Jewish English guy Sacha Baron Cohen as a conniving barber businessman that is on a mission to take Sweeney Todd out of business.

One of my favorite scenes was when Mrs. Lovett, played by Helena Bonham Carter, sings of her happiness and success of their meat pie business. The contrast of the lush background, ranging from a beach side picnic, to frollicking on a ship and their Gothic and stoic made for a beautiful juxtaposition.

One major problem I had with the film was with the portrayal of the young lovers, especially with Anthony, for they possessed the screen presence of melted wax: dull, flimsy, and utterly uninteresting. Anthony, played by Jamie Campbell Bower, does not possess youthful, handsome looks. He looks like a male Claire Danes.

Meet the stars of the revival of the sitcom Sister, Sister.

He is horribly un-sexy. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of thousands of girls pulling their panties up and clamping their legs shut. I say only mere thousands because there are probably an equal, maybe even higher number that find this effeminate creature a virile and drool-worthy young man.

Although I'd rather have the unknown actor play Anthony, rather than a Zac Efron type or whoever is "hot" right now, his acting was all urgency and no passion. I feel that the audience never truly gets to connect with Anthony, nor sympathize with his emotions. The character Anthony is trying to be chivalrous in order to save his love interest but Bower is unable to pull that through his character. On the plus side, the boy has pipes. His rendition of "Johanna," where he first lays eyes on his future booty call was pure, sweet, and innocent.

Johanna, played by Jayne Wisener, is much more unfortunate than our male. She looks like a poor man's Christina Ricci and her eyebrows looked like they had been humiliated by an acid attack from the Clorox Bleach company.

"Oh Anthony...your song about me is so lovely. Yet I cannot see you very well as there is such a sharp glare from my albinism-afflicted brows."

Someone tell Juliet that this chick is trying to copy her style.

A few more things to look out for in the movie: Watch Ed Sanders, who plays Toby, a young boy who at first works for Sacha Baron Cohen's character Signor Pirelli, and then later an apprentice for Mrs. Lovett. He has such a strong and emotive singing voice, full of control and power for someone so young. Be careful of the beggar lady afflicted with syphilis, gonorrhea, genital herpes, and psychotic episodes. The camera does close-ups of her and makes you feel like you can catch any of the above just by staring into her pustule-covered eyes. Yummy. She's the real reason for the R rating.

This April 1st, visit your barber in commemoration. Then buy a pizza with extra bubbly cheese that resembles pustules, sing on your way home, and invite your friends over. It's a movie night and when the mock you for renting Sweeney Todd, you will say "It's April Fools, bitches!" and pop the movie into your DVD player. And if they refuse, then...well...I have a meat grinder you can borrow...



:D