Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [reviewed by Jori]

116 min., 2007
Directed by Tim Burton
My rating: 
IMDB • Netflix • Official Site

No surprises–Burton and Depp delivering more of the same.

* * *

Ok sure, I’m a musical snob.  I grew up on them and have continued to enjoy them up to now.  Am I being nit-picky?  Probably.  I’m a big fan of Burton’s work and I’ve always had a thing for Johnny Depp and maybe that ends up being the problem.  I was a bit underwhelmed and frankly unsatisfied.

Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) has had a hell of a time.  Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman from Dogma  and of course Professor Snape from the Harry Potter series) has decided that he wants Barker’s wife and so sends him off to prison so that he may take his wife and child for his own.  Many years later Barker returns with a new identity–Sweeney Todd.  He moves upstairs from Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter–Burton’s muse.  And of course you’ll recognize her as Bellatrix from Harry Potter) and together they end up plotting revenge against Turpin while trying to save Barker’s daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener).  Singing and bleeding take center stage as Burton shares his unique visuals with us.

As a whole this was actually beautifully done.  Burton is predictable in a good way.  If you like his taste, you’ll like everything he’s done because they are all exactly the same.  He has a distinct vision that will never be mistaken as anything but truly his own.  The cast is a powerhouse of talent with Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen (yes, Borat himself!) and real stage actors with amazing voices.

So let’s get to why I wasn’t impressed enough:  While Depp and Bonham Carter are indeed talented, they are not professional singers.  Yes, that was them actually singing on the soundtrack.  Of course they can both hold a tune.  But that isn’t enough when you are making a musical.  Depp especially is an outstanding actor who actually lives and becomes whatever role he plays.  Unfortunately it was painfully obvious that there was a real disconnect between his character during speaking scenes and actual singing scenes.  He can’t quite bring the same level of emotion to the role when you can see that he is having a difficult time reconciling the character with the song.  The lip-synching left a bit to be desired because of that.  His eyes that are  normally part of his charm and quite expressive were confused and half-dead, searching for a way to understand this whole singing thing.  Being able to hold a tune isn’t enough if you want to move past karaoke parties.  The hallmark of a phenomenal singer is not only the voice, but the feeling and emotion conveyed through the music.  Bonham Carter did a tiny bit better, but that isn’t saying much.  Rickman on the other hand–well let’s just say he definitely isn’t a singer.  It was a bit embarrassing to endure the duet he has with Depp.

And yet we had perfectly capable singers on hand!  They were given bit parts, but at least they helped bring the film higher.  They added a legitimacy to the whole musical part of it.  I have to say I was flabbergasted that Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Repo! The Genetic Opera) showed up in a cameo.  Not only is Head a phenomenal actor–he is a brilliant singer.  He would have been perfect for the role of Sweeney Todd!  With such a powerful voice he could have really brought an entire lifetime’s worth of sympathy to the character. (Really, you have to see him in Repo! to understand what I mean.  There are simply no words to describe his brilliance.)  And maybe that’s where my problem lies–after seeing Head, I just couldn’t help but imagine the role as played by him.

Don’t misunderstand, the cast brought their best.  Burton just needed to consider that there are other actors out there that are as good as his mainstays.  I realize I’m being far too picky, but the fun of getting to write my own reviews is that I get to be as picky as I want.  Am I pissing people off?  Most likely.  But this is certainly not going to win any new fans for the musical genre.  If you love musicals and you love Burton then you’ll crucify me for blasphemy.  There is nothing here that you haven’t already seen in his other films.  This just felt stale.  As much as I enjoy Burton’s work, it almost feels like buying the same shirt over and over again, just in different colors.

• The Echo [reviewed by Jori]
  [2 stars] I blame the Americans.
• The Human Centipede (First Sequence) [reviewed by Jori]
  [3 stars] They should have called him Dr. Mengle.
• The Sadist [reviewed by Lackey]
  [Zero stars] Enjoying The Sadist involves more work than I'm willing to put in.