Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

"The years, no doubt, have changed me!" -- Sweeney Todd

Let's start this, the inaugural review, off with a little snippet of me; I'm not a fan of musicals. It's the "Yay! Let's sing now!" attitude of many of them, like Hairspray, or the somehow popular High School Musical. However, despite my dislike of musicals, I do still enjoy classics like The Sound of Music (odd, I know) which is why I still watch them from time to time, in hopes of finding another of similar, if not better quality.

And I think I found one and it lies within the blood-drenched film of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It is true that 85% of the dialogue is sung, but it never falls into the "Yay! Let's sing now!" category. The songs don't even come across as songs since they integrate themselves so well into the story and really help to elevate the emotional power of the movie.

It's the story that truly captivates as it is not a story you would relate to a musical. Benjamin Barker is sent away on a trumped up charge for life by Judge Turpin, a judge who plans to have his way with Barker's wife. When Barker returns fifteen years later, he has adopted the persona of Sweeney Todd and begins to plot his revenge alongside the eccentric Mrs Lovett. The idea of a barber who slits the throats of his customers is already disturbing as is, but just to make things more twisted, Mrs Lovett bakes the bodies of Sweeney Todd's former customers into her meat pies, which quickly become a sensation.

Johnny Depp plays the revenge-crazed Sweeney Todd and once again does so very well. From Todd's most tender moments when he's caressing his razor blades to the most intense kill, Depp is able to convey the character of Sweeney Todd with grace. He even surprises when it comes to singing. This is the first movie where it is Depp himself singing, and does it fairly well. Is it the best singing? No. Though it is perfect for the performance. As for Sweeney Todd's accomplice, Mrs Lovett, Helena Bonham Carter does her usual creepy routine, but, once again, does it brilliantly. She has been typecast into these kinds of roles, but it suits her and she does it well so there's no sense in arguing the point. The true stroke of casting genius was casting Alan Rickman as the twisted Judge Turpin and Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford (it's like a Harry Potter reunion tour!). Alan Rickman (aka Snape) is by far my favourite Judge Turpin. The way he speaks, the way he carries himself, the way he punishes those who cross him really come across as a more subdued kind of evil, which Alan Rickman is very good at. Timothy Spall (aka Peter Pettigrew) is the weirdest, most rat-like, and brilliant interpretation of Beadle Bamford, the Judge's sidekick, I have seen. Spall has nailed his performance right down to the gestures and the way he extends his vicious cane.

And with Tim Burton at the helm, you know the movie will be a visual treat. He once again hits his mark with the dark, bleak, silent movie feel. The very grey colour palette of the sets really make the whole location slightly unnerving, if the premise of throat slitting isn't enough. And with the slitting of throats comes blood, and lots of it. This is easily the bloodiest movie I have seen since Grindhouse. Yes, a musical is bloodier than any horror movie. But don't fret, the blood is so red, and so wonderfully over the top, the blood is almost poetic and really adds the film, instead of just having blood for blood's sake (like Grindhouse). The blood spills and sprays without mercy, and is topped off by a more disturbing crunching of the bodies as the fall, head-first, down a chute and colliding with the floor of the bakehouse two storeys below.

From the first astounding note of the theatre shaking organ to the last blood-soaked frame, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street not only entertains, but surpasses every movie released this year in terms of greatness. The acting, the cinematography, the sheer power of the musical numbers all come together and make a dark, and very outstanding package. This movie definitely gets my vote for movie of the year.

Final Rating: 9.7 out of 10