Dark, tragic and extraordinarily stylistic. These are the distinct qualities of the Broadway musical Sweeney Todd. Sounds quite like a perfect fit for director Tim Burton. There hasn’t been a recent film so in tune with the overplayed themes of revenge. Monumentally, it all rests at the hands of one of cinema’s greatest pairings of sheer talent; Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.
For Burton and Depp, the Broadway musical of Sweeney Todd makes for a marvelous combination of humor, horror, and music. The story follows the troubles of Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp). We know him as Sweeney Todd, but before he was consumed by a rampage of revenge, Benjamin was a successful barber living in London. With a shop on fleet street and a beautiful wife and daughter, Benjamin had a perfect life. Since all revenge tales start with tragedy, Benjamin’s life was stolen from him by the devious and lustful Judge Trupin (Alan Rickman). With his wife and daughter in the life of another man’s shoes and Benjamin himself having been banished, he would return years later, hiding under the shadows of the name Sweeney Todd.
Upon his return to London, Sweeney meets the co-tenant of his old barber shop, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter). Underneath his second story barber shop is Mrs. Lovett’s Bakery. Known for making “the worst pies in London”, Mrs. Lovett would have the health inspector from Ratatouille doing more than running from rodents.
This much darker tale with culinary themes seems to have etched something into its characters that portrays a person’s inner-most desires. In the darkest twist of all, we see how these desires can turn on the best of people and consume them. Here, Depp does more than just recite another British accent as he visually brings out what is going on inside the mind of Sweeney. Likely, Depp and Carter empower their respective roles to create an on-screen duo that is cleverly humorous, ultimately frightening, and energetically captivating.
Outside of all the psyche examining performances is Burton’s impressive style. Never more prominent or perfect in any other film, the visuals of Sweeney play into this story with wondrous reflection and anticipation. Burton has taken the movie he was destined to make and given it a more vivid and haunting perception of the characters he has always dealt with. With Sweeney Todd, Burton has done one better than staying true to the original material. This film is Tim Burton’s masterpiece.
Four stars out of four
