Tonight I’m going to blog a film review. Prepare to be bored. I should warn people that this does contain spoilers so if you don’t want to know…look away now.
The other night I watched Sweeney Todd. The one with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. I should begin by saying Sweeney is my favourite musical. I’ve loved it for years. My neighbours can often hear me singing along with the original Broadway soundtrack as I clean the house. I should also add that I am a big fan of both Mr Depp and Ms Carter. Up until the other night I’d not seen them do anything bad. To say I was disappointed is an understatement.
But, to start from the beginning. Given Tim Burton’s particular style, it was always going to look and feel terrific and it does. I love the way he combines fact and fantasy by placing his characters in a sort of cartoon. Like Beetlejuice. He’s very good at it. And given the subject matter of lots of his films, it works really well. His nightmare vision of early Victorian London is a delight. Big swooping panoramas, dark dingy corners. And everything in shades of grey except for the glimpses of a happy, colourful past that will never return…until we see the blood. Good strong reds, splashing everywhere. This part of Sweeney is very important and he does it superbly.
What isn’t so superb is the fact that his leads are too pretty. I didn’t believe that Sweeney Todd had been transported, escaped then was shipwrecked only to be rescued at the last minute by Anthony. I didn’t believe he had a festering sore crying out for revenge. No matter how hard Depp tried, he didn’t have the age or grief etched into his face. Sweeney needs to be a hulk of a man with a quiet but threatening voice. Likewise, Mrs Lovett needs to be less pretty, less appealing. Helena is gorgeous and far too sexy.
And the singing. They try, bless ’em but they don’t have the skill to sing Sondheim. There is no power in their voices. They sound thin and reedy. The emotion of the score never rises. A very big disappointment was the omission of the signature song. The orchestra played it but the song was never sung. I can see why Burton left it out of the beginning but I think it should have been performed over the credits at the end. The tune came in but with no song. Sadly, the music is not meant to stand alone and it feels unfinished…because it is.
But enough brickbats. I did think that Alan Rickman was excellent as Judge Turpin. His skill at emotional levels is fantastic. Completely believable and I’d watch it again just for his performance. Also Ed Sanders as young Toby. When you get a great child actor it really shines through. I could see him as the Artful Dodger.
On the other hand, why the hell Burton cast Sacha Baron Cohen as Pirelli is beyond me. He is awful. He totally ruins the character and can’t act. I wanted to hide whenever he was on and cheered when he became Sweeney’s first victim! Absolutely appalling. He should stick to ridicule.
So, on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is “turn it off before it starts” and 10 is “you’ll regret missing this when you’re dead” I’d have to give it a 4. If you love Sweeney, you may enjoy bits of it, if you like Depp & Carter you may enjoy bits of it, if you enjoy Sacha Baron Cohen you’ll probably enjoy about five minutes of it.
PS: I went into London today to have lunch with Mirinda. We went to a lovely little Italian place that reminded me of Rome. I love Italy.
