Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street Review (Classic Write-Up)

The Todd Are About To Get Even

Tim Burton is strongly associated with the macabre, but I find it interesting how rarely he divulges from the world of films that are rated PG-13 softer. That's not a bad thing at all, but it is an observation I find interesting considering how much Burtons career relives on dark storytelling. That darkness can usually fit into a family friend format (like in the abominable Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, which I hate with a strong passion), but in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, we get only the second R-rated movie of Burtons career, as well as one of his better movies.



Nowadays, the idea of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton teaming up for a motion picture delivers scorn rather than excitement from many, but Sweeney Todd demonstrates just what this duo can accomplish in their best moments. Depp plays things more subdued when depicting Sweeney Todd, with more heightened moments, such as when he inquires various frozen onlookers if they desire a shave, leaving more of an impact when they don't come at a rapid pace like in other Burton-Depp collaborations.

Besides being the directors rare foray into R-rated territory, this is also Tim Burtons only musical, adapting the stage show that had songs written by Stephen Sondheim. Musical outbursts in the story translate well to film, especially since the smaller scale of the performances (none of the musical numbers employ a chorus or a large number of extras singing and dancing) compliment the darker story. That plot is ripe for musical fodder, as the tale of Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) wishing to gain vengeance on those who have wronged him covering well trodden musical subjects like cannibalism and murder.

Depp, whose vocal chops would be on display in another cinematic Sondheim adaptation Into The Woods, does a great job at both singing the various tunes and depicting Sweeneys descent into violence fueled madness. He and his various co-stars (including Harry Potter co-stars Helena Bonham-Carter, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall) are surrounded by the sort of memorable sets that typically crop up in Burtons productions. Gary Freeman and David Warren are able to match the bleak tone of the movie in the art direction by lending London a subdued grey look. The duo show commendable range by also making the colorful environment in one musical number sung by Mrs. Lovett that was pleasing to look at, even if the song itself did remind me of Somewhere That's Green from Little Shop of Horrors.

Like I said earlier, it's rare to see Burton in this realm of R-rated filmmaking, but thankfully, the story isn't given a happy-cozy ending, instead settling for an appropriate ending full of tragedy and misery. Having not seen the stage show from which this film is based, I cannot detail its faithfulness to the source material, but I did admire the films commitment to depicting the cruelty of the world in an unrestrained fashion. This approach just makes the film all the more notable for the way it doesn't attempt to contradict its primary themes, and I do admire that sort of consistency, especially when dealing with the sort of gruesome content that Sweeney Todd is chock full of. But ya gotta go all-in when dealing with this sort of story, and thankfully, this 2007 motion picture does so in a manner that doesn't feel gratuitous but rather as an excellent way to tell its unique and repellent tale.