Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (18)

Directed by: Tim Burton

Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen

Synopsis: Judge Turpin (Rickman) lusts after the wife of barber Benjamin Barker, so with the help of the local Beadle (Spall), he has him arrested on false charges and shipped to the colonies. Years later, Barker returns to find his wife had killed herself and Turpin had adopted his daughter, with the aim of marrying her himself. With the aid of Mrs Moffett (Bonham-Carter), Ben Barker becomes Sweeney Todd, and begins to plot his bloody revenge.

Review: A Genre Movie like no other. After the lifeless delivery of Joel Schumacher’s version of Phantom of the Opera, Tim Burton shows how to bring a West End/Broadway musical to life. Heavily stylised in darkness and greys (except for the bright red flowing blood of course), Burton brings us to a very gothic, Victorian London, where daylight is a rare commodity.

Burton has taken Stephen Sondheim’s bloody musical and turned it into a masterpiece of Grand Guignol. Make no doubt about it, this is a very bloodthirsty movie, made more so by the fact that blood red is almost the only primary colour on display. The first and last of Todd’s victims are personal – horrifically savage. The rest are undertaken with a dispassionate glare.

Johhny Depp surely must be one of the most versatile actors alive. If in Pirates of the Caribbean Depp was channelling Keith Richards in his performance, then here there is definitely a smidgen of David Bowie in his delivery, especially his duet with Judge Turpin. It is a multifaceted performance, touching, tragic, driven and murderous, sometimes all within the same scene.

There was a time when Helena Bonham Carter was synonymous with period costume dramas, such as Room with a View or Wings of a Dove. After such movies as Fight Club, Harry Potters and Sweeny Todd, I think she’s proven to fit almost any genre she fancies.

And then we have Hans Gruber himself, Alan Rickman, who seems to have an unending supply of malevolent characters whose skin he can slip into. Bound by the niceties of society, he walks and talks with a stilted manner, his emotions all buttoned down but ready to burst forth in a torrent of lust and anger.

Two other actors also make a big impression: Timothy Spall continues to provide solid character support, while Sasha Baron Cohen is almost unrecognisable as the “Italian” barber, Adolfo Pirelli.

This movie would never work unless the songs were good and the actors could sing them. Burton took care of the latter by making his cast sing an audition. Admittedly some of the songs are on the bland side, but there are some real standouts, such as when Todd and Mrs Moffett first discuss making pies of his victims, which really displays Sondheim’s wit to its full extent.

Verdict: This is every bit as good as you’ve heard. Forget the fact it’s a musical – you’ll be completely entranced in the storytelling. Be warned though – this is not, I repeat, not for the squeamish.

8 out of 10 (Review by MikeOutWest)