Now Variety Blesses Sweeney Todd!!!

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 6:54pm

Both sharp and fleet, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” proves a satisfying screen version of Stephen Sondheim’s landmark 1979 theatrical musical. Where much could have gone wrong, things have turned out uniformly right thanks to highly focused direction by Tim Burton, expert screw-tightening by scenarist John Logan, and haunted and musically adept lead performances from Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Assembled artistic combo assures the film will reap by far the biggest audience to see a pure Sondheim musical, although just how big depends on the upscale crowd’s tolerance for buckets of blood, and the degree to which the masses stay away due to the whiff of the highbrow. In all events, DreamWorks-Paramount and Warner Bros. have a classy and reasonably commercial delicacy on their hands.
The composer-lyricist’s bulging shelf of awards and peerless reputation notwithstanding, Sondheim’s own shows have never invited much bigscreen interest, no doubt due to the general feeling that they are works from and for the head rather than the heart. The two films that were made from his musicals, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “A Little Night Music,” were, to put it kindly, hardly representative of the effect the shows had onstage.

Some Broadway purists will gripe about how the film of “Sweeney Todd” omits and abridges certain songs, reshapes the drama to a degree or just can’t measure up to their cherished memories of Angela Lansbury’s wondrous performance as Mrs. Lovett. But it will be hard to argue that Burton and his cohorts have not imaginatively reconceived the piece as a work of cinema; strictly in film terms, “Sweeney” is seamless, coherent and vibrant, with scarcely a trace of “Broadway.”

The flip side of these virtues is that the immaculately designed settings and lack of breathing room lend the film a claustrophobic feel that underlines its status as an art work. Other qualitative considerations to the side, this aspect makes “Sweeney Todd” most recall the much-debated “Evita” among screen versions of post-’60s musicals.

Eschewing trademark mannerisms and flights of fancy, and yet fully imprinting the film with his signature, Burton strongly delivers the dark core of this story of a lower-class London barber whose thirst for revenge against a venal judge gives birth to a prodigious serial killer. Yarn has questionable real-life origins in the 18th century, but came to prominence as a story and a stage drama in the mid-19th century, and in 1973 served as the inspiration for the Christopher Bond play that attracted Sondheim’s attention.

As Sweeney Todd (Depp) sails up the Thames with a young man, Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower), having escaped from prison in Australia, his bitterly ironic commentary in “No Place Like London” firmly defines the side of the city the film will occupy; in production designer Dante Ferretti’s superb realization, it is a squalid place of narrow streets and dingy rooms. Evoking old Hollywood horror pics, Burton has made something very close to a real black-and-white film, as Ferretti’s sets, the extensive CGI backgrounds, Dariusz Wolski’s lensing, Colleen Atwood’s costumes and the pale makeup are synchronized to permit only traces of bold color -- mostly red -- to accent a world dominated by shades of gray, blue, white and black.

Sweeney Todd returns with the single-minded intention of killing Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman, as deliciously sinister as fans know he can be), who locked him up on false charges so he could make off with the younger man’s lovely wife Lucy and young daughter.

Installed in a room above a dismal pie shop run by his slovenly long-ago landlady, Mrs. Lovett (Bonham Carter), Sweeney has his desire for payback sharpened by the news that Lucy killed herself out of distress and Turpin is now romantically inclined toward Sweeney’s now-teenage daughter, Johanna (Jayne Wisener), who coincidentally catches the eye of the naively romantic Anthony (Campbell Bower’s screen future seems assured, thanks to looks so striking that they distract one from looking even at Depp).

Sweeney’s murderous career commences to the detriment of a fellow barber, charlatan and con artist Adolfo Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), following a public musical “duel” to determine who in London can administer the quickest, closest shave. Cohen, in his first screen appearance since “Borat,” makes the most of this brief but expansive supporting role, broadly playing the braggart showman with, as required, two different accents and highly colorful costumes.

Mrs. Lovett, a widow who signals her enduring love for Sweeney by having carefully kept his collection of gleaming razors through the years, makes a quick moral adjustment to her boarder’s bloody enterprise by using his victims’ flesh in her meat pies, which brings her business roaring back to life.

All the while, Judge Turpin and his malevolent henchman Beadle Bamford (an unctuous, gruesomely toothsome Timothy Spall) frustratingly elude Sweeney’s clutches; once they’re on to him and Anthony, the virtuous Johanna is thrown into an asylum, while Mrs. Lovett begins entertaining delusions of happily-ever-after domestic bliss with Sweeney.

Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler fashioned a darkly effective morality tale out of this descent into madness, one Logan has elegantly whittled down to two hours from three to satisfy the more concise specifications of the screen. Dialogue is present when needed, but the vast majority of the text and drama is conveyed via the songs, which themselves have sometimes been shortened -- with verses removed -- with little loss in impact.

Burton stages the singing sequences with precision and fluidity; as most of them are intimate one-or-two-person affairs and not production numbers in the traditional sense, he approaches them as he would dramatic scenes, in degrees of closeup and with an emphasis on content and forward movement. Music has always played a major role in his films (notably in his previous pic, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”) and this represents one happy instance of a film made by a director without stage experience that genuinely serves the intentions of the original piece.

Heavy curiosity will center on how Depp, in particular, manages the vocals (all the actors performed their songs themselves). The answer is, perfectly well, thank you. The ever-resourceful thesp doesn’t take the half-measure of sing-speaking in the manner of Rex Harrison or Richard Burton, but puts across his many numbers with an agreeable voice that effectively registers the lyrics’ import.

The same goes for Bonham Carter, a similarly untrained vocalist, who works in the same vein of successfully acting her role through song. There is deeply buried emotion and charged motivations in both characters that Depp and Bonham Carter consistently express, and the eerie similarity of their looks -- the endlessly dark eyes, cascading black hair, delicate facial structure, sunken cheeks, exaggerated lips, slight stature -- accentuates the characters’ complicity; at one point, they are both so pale, they look like they’ve been done up in whiteface.

Another effective connection is made between Sweeney and his mortal enemy, Rickman’s hanging judge; both express the view, and justify their predisposition for meting out severe punishment, that all men have done something in their lives that make them deserve to die. It is certainly true of the two of them, no matter that one is the antihero, and the other the villain, of the piece.

The narrow, heavily deterministic and, yes, gushingly bloody nature of the show (more than enough to warrant its R rating) serves to mute the exhilaration to a degree, but producers Richard Zanuck, Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald (and Sondheim, who had approval of the director and actors) deserve credit for ensuring that everyone involved on the picture was the right person for the job.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 7:28pm

So nice you posted it twice!

I'm thrilled that he liked it.

Isn't this the first "official" film review?

[tophertilson]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 7:32pm

Yes!!!!!!!

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 8:03pm

I sense "Oscars" and lots of them!

[WSS2]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 8:11pm

I've said it all a long....this film will be great!

let's hope, come Oscar time, it doesn't turn into Dreamgirls.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 8:16pm

Over at TheOscarIgloo.com, the official prediction is that Daniel Day-Lewis still has a slight edge over Depp in the Best Actor category: their opinion is that Lewis is such a respected Hollywood name that Johnny might just fall behind, if his "I've-never-won-one" status doesn't save him.

Opinions? Do you think Depp has the lead right now?

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 8:25pm

I have a feeling from just watching Bonham Carter doing that clip of "Nothings..To Hurt You" that she might win best actress, the way she acted that without ever saying a word was powerfull ( she was thrilling, creepy and you could see the moment in her eyes, when she knew that Toby knew everything!). If the rest of her performance matches that 90 seconds. She could walk away with this.

IMO.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 8:29pm

Well, Best Actress is a harder category to predict, unfortunately. There's Ellen Page giving a fantastic, huge-buzz performance in JUNO, Marion Cotillard (playing Luisa in the film adaptation of NINE), who has been riding the buzz ever since her film, LA VIE EN ROSE, opened a while ago, Julie Christie in AWAY FROM HER, Amy Adam's coming-out-of-nowhere performance in ENCHANTED...

Helena isn't nearly a lock for a nomination, let alone a win.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 8:36pm

roscoe---If Helena didn't sing in the movie, I would agree with you. Her acting as Mrs. Lovett is already on the "wow" (and Oscar-worthy) level. Just from the few clips I've seen.

But her singing voice is simple, plain, pure. Unobtrusive, lonely, downtrodden. Not bad, but not "wow." Will that detract from her beautiful acting job?

For me, I don't need Mrs. Lovett to be a great singer. And as long as Helena's singing voice is right for HER version of Nellie Lovett, and as long as she isn't grating (either flat, sharp or completely off the mark), then I'll be quite satisfied.

It's very different than all who have come before her, though. So, will the Academy feel it suits this character? Don't know yet.

But I love that this review is so praise-worthy of her work, and also an unofficial review I read earlier said hers is the most haunting performance in the film.

Very nice! If other critics follow, she'll definitely be in the running for it. And I'd say Depp is not just in the running, but a front-runner... considering he's never done a musical (or anything like this) before, his fellow actors are going to be very impressed with his risk-taking and "artistic bravery." This could easily be his year.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 8:40pm

Just wishful thinking on my part Buster, Actress this year is hard to call.

Marion Cotillard left me cold and i failed to see what all the fuss was about, by the time the movie was at the half way mark, i could not wait for her to die.

As for the others, most of those movies have yet to open in Australia.

[Tkt2Ride]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 8:46pm

It does make you wonder what's in it for Variety? Still I know I can't wait to see it.

I can't help but imagine someone dressed up like the Grim Reaper stating, you are going to like this Movie or else? Just standing around the Theater's exits.

It will just be so nice to see it being preformed by these great Actors.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 9:01pm

Golden Globes ballots are due back Dec.10th, can't wait to hear the nominations. They will be a good way to see what the movie's chances are in terms of awards.
I'm more concerned about box office than awards though. If the movie proves to sell well (I don't mean PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN huge blockbuster business but solid business), this could open more doors for "riskier" musicals. And more stars and renowned directors will be attracted to these genre.
This could also help INTO THE WOODS finally get the green light. Burton would be the ideal choice to work on that movie too.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 9:06pm

Concerning Golden Globes: I don't think there's any way Johnny Depp isn't going to win Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical. So there's one.

Poor Helena, she's still going to have a hard time, facing Ellen Page and Amy Adams and etc.

I think Sweeney is going to have a good showing concerning nominations at the Globes. Here are my predictions:

Best Picture (Musical/Comedy)
Best Director - Tim Burton
Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy - Johnny Depp
Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy - Helena Bonham Carter
Maaaayyyybbbbeeee Best Supporting Actor - Ed Sanders OR Alan Rickman

Updated On: 12/3/07 at 09:06 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 9:10pm

It comes to show how ridiculous the fact the HFPA divides the awards in Drama v. Musical/Comedy. How can you have Carter's performance competing v. Amy Adams' when they could not be more different. It should just be drama v. comedy, they need to change the rules to fit the way the genre of movie musical has changed.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 9:14pm

A Burton directed "Into The Woods", yes please.

Bestbars12, i am hoping they will over look her singing ( which i like ) and i too hope that it does not detract from her wonderful acting.

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 9:19pm

I don't think Burton could get the first act right. It would be cool if they got two directors, one for act 1 and one for act 2. Give Burton act 2.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 9:22pm

I think Burton would be great with both acts. Act one is not really a happy little fairy tale!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 9:28pm

Exactly, Act I poses as a happy fairy tale but it's the perfect set-up for Act II. It's not like they are two different shows. I think Burton would be ideal for the material especially now that he seems to understand how to find a cinematic way into Sondheim's work.
Just thinking of the casting possibilities makes me salivate.

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 10:08pm

Well, actually act 2 of Into the Woods is a deconstruction of the first act. If you used the same production designers, editor and cinematographer, but switched out the directors, the result could be really great. I'm not saying that Burton couldn't pull off the whole thing, but the split between the acts (like SITPWG) could afford dual directors the opportunity to approach the tonal shift in act 2 in a very interesting way. Throw Spielberg act 1.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 12:53am

I am with you Ray, i hate the way HFPA spilts the awards. It should be Drama and a single entry for Comedy. Also i have a feeling that Sweeney should fall under the Drama banner.

[pab]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 2:14am

I couldn't care less about awards at the moment. I hope that the film is as good as I've heard and that MANY people go out to see it when it opens. It's about time that the masses find out about the brilliance of Sondheim.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 8:09am

VERY nice indeed

I'm with you, pab.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 11:10am

Spielberg for act one, Burton for act 2? The movie would be positively schizophrenic. There needs to be a coherent tone... most expansive fantasy stories have light first halfs and dark second halfs. It's the way such stories are told.

Pab, it really seems (from the blitz marketing) that this movie will at least be a box office success. Can you imagine a Sondheim movie-musical being on every DVD shelf in the country?

Awesome.