Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street review

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Tom Elce reviews Sweeney Todd, the film has Oscar for best achievement in art direction

In a Tim Burton resume that already includes the lofty likes of 1989's "Batman," 1990's "Edward Scissorhands," 1994's "Ed Wood" and 2003's "Big Fish," "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" comfortably takes its seat as one of the director's best films. A Gothic near-masterpiece that superbly adapts the award-winning 1979 Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler musical to the silver screen, the film is a marvelous, bravura film musical with a seemingly endless list of superb numbers ably performed by a superlative cast. If Tim Burton's brilliance has failed to show itself to notable effect in the recent likes of "Corpse Bride" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," it is back on full display here, winning over the viewers with a grim, violent revenge tale afforded many a delightful twist.

The revenge tale at its heart is that of the titular Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp), formerly known as Benjamin Barker in the times before corrupt Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) had him wrongfully imprisoned and, as such, separated from a family that Turpin wanted for himself. Now, in 19th-century London, Sweeney returns to his former domain to find a friendly, lonely meat pie maker in Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who takes him in and allows for a makeshift barber shop to be set up above her flagging eatery. Soon, however, the madness that has dwelled inside Sweeney over the years begins to worsen as he turns to murder, slashing the throat of his clientele, who are thereafter used as the meat in Mrs. Lovett's pies, which incidentally begin to sell from this point onwards. As the wheel-of-fate turns, Sweeney's main target, Judge Turpin, draws closer to him, Sweeney now even more driven to seek his vengeance now that it has become clear Turpin is raising Sweeney's own daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener) as his daughter.

Having always been a fan of Tim Burton's work, I walked into "Sweeney Todd" with high expectations and didn't leave disappointed. Playfully weaving a story of quirk and eccentricity without losing sight of any of the deadly serious undercurrents to the tale - nor plenty of brutal violence - the film is strangely akin to "Pan's Labyrinth," itself a very different type of film, in not having a preference of fantasy over reality, or vice versa. Afforded a brilliant screenplay by writer John Logan and all the Sondheim greats of the Broadway show - with just one sizable omission - the film flows smoothly and effortlessly as songs are sung with nary a note amiss, the story itself told cleanly and concisely. To list the musical numbers by order of merit is an impossibility; each song is as engaging as the last.

As the haunted, tragic lead character, Johnny Depp flawlessly plays Sweeney Todd either as a tortured soul halfway through his madness-inspired downward spiral or a human being who sees some light at the end of the tunnel. Where Sweeney's story ultimately leads is for the viewer to discover for themselves, but it should be noted just how believable Depp, hopefully putting Jack Sparrow of "Pirates of the Caribbean" fame behind him, is in the role. Assisting him with similar edginess and diverse skill is an excellent cast. Helena Bonham Carter is likeable if a little deceitful as Mrs. Lovett, Alan Rickman appropriately repellent as Judge Turpin and Timothy Spall an unexpected hoot as his slimy accomplice Beadle Bamford. Beyond them, newcomer Jamie Campbell Bower, as Anthony Hope, and Jayne Wisener, as Johanna, do well in their individual scenes. The scene-stealer of the piece, however, is Sacha Baron Cohen as Sweeney's rival barber Signor Adolfo Pirelli, who naively tries to blackmail Sweeney and, because of this, finds himself the one that is victimized.

"Sweeney Todd" seemed destined for perfection until the very end, memorable moments including the final scenes between Pirelli and Sweeney, Sweeney's imaginary walk through the streets of London wherein he vows his vengeance, and a Turpin and Bamford duet that sends Turpin in Sweeney's direction. Even the end is memorable, all the key story threads coming together in a way that, while organic, is difficult to stomach. Still, the conclusion is flawed, mostly because the definitive "Ballad of Sweeney Todd" is nowhere to be heard. Instead, the film ends abruptly without the iconic musical number fans of the Broadway show or the story as a whole might have expected, and surely would have wanted. Until this point "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is note-perfect. Nonetheless, the finale doesn't sour the film much.

"Sweeney Todd" works so well as a Tim Burton film that viewers will be able to go along with the notion that, yes, this could be the film he was born to make. That doesn't necessarily mean it is his greatest, but it is great regardless. Edited smoothly by Chris Lebenzon and photographed sublimely by Dariusz Wolski, the film is a gloriously, meticulously composed stunner rich in gothic aesthetic that is in keeping with director Burton's previous work even if it is really nothing like anything he has helmed before. The costume design Colleen Atwood is fantastic, rightfully earning one of the film's three Oscar nominations, wrongfully losing out on the night. "Sweeney Todd" will be eaten up by fans of Burton's previous work and similarly adored by viewers able to take in an offbeat, gratuitous film of such nature. For the weak-stomached it might be too grisly. For anyone else it is surely a must-see.

[rating:4.5]