I didn't think it was too bloody at all. Afterwards, I thought "THAT'S what people thought was too bloody?" He slits people's throats. What do you think it's going to look like?
I very much enjoyed the film. I thought it was excellent. Not necessarily Best Picture material, but it's a very successful adaptation of one of my favorite musicals. I'm not going to go on and on about all the things I adored, but I do have a few quibbles.
1.) Anthony's age. He was too young. I find that the Anthony/Johanna story line is more fulfilling and realistic when Anthony is a bit older. After all, he claims to have "sailed the world, beheld its wonders/from the Dardanelles/to the mountains of Peru...", but he looks no older than 17-18 years old. He lays his eyes on a girl through a window, falls in love, and will stop at nothing to rescue her? He's a 15 year old twink. He's been no where, seen nothing, and probably knows little to nothing of love. His brutally young and boyish face and age make their relationship seem nothing more than a passing teenage fancy. The stakes aren't high enough.
2.) On the same note, I understand why the majority of Johanna's material was cut, but as a result - the characters of Johanna and Anthony (and their whole story line) seems incomplete - almost like "Well, I don't know you. Who cares what happens to you?" It would have done the film a great service to have left "Kiss Me" in the film. Without it, Johanna and Anthony have NO scenes together prior to her rescue. He's only seen her through a window - how on EARTH would he recognize her and pick her out from dozens of girls at an asylum? And more than that, the absence of "Kiss Me" makes Johanna seem idiotic and annoying. With the song, you see her quirky personality and her actual chops. You find out something about her and her interaction. In the musical, she wants Anthony just as much as Anthony wants her. In the film, the only indication of her agreement is the tossing of the key. I actually feel that the exclusion of so much Johanna/Anthony material is a fatal, fatal flaw in the film.
3.) The casting of Tobias. I didn't mind that he was so young - it worked quite well - but the kid wasn't much of an actor while singing. He's a cute kid with a cute voice, but his eyes are completely empty when he sings. Not only isn't he giving the audience any indication that he knows what he's singing about, but it's highly unlikely that a kid THAT young who was raised in a workhouse would be able to put together lines as meaningful and poetic and sophisticated as those in "Not While I'm Around." Suspension of disbelief - yes - but I felt that the kid was just TOO infantile.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
