#26
Posted: 1/6/12 at 3:03pm
I thought Johnny Depp was actually quite good as Todd, but otherwise I agree with most of Sean's criticisms. (I can understand Burton's concern about the extras singing choral numbers, but even non-musicals have choruses singing on the soundtrack. We don't have to see them.)
Even worse, I thought, was Helena Bonham Carter playing Mrs. Lovett as if the poor woman were heavily sedated with Xanax.
What drives the plot is the meeting between Todd's passion for revenge and Lovett's mindless but obsessive quest for capitalist success. Without the latter's manic and increasingly desperate energy, there are no meat pies and no story. (And no comment on the amorality of the bourgeoisie, but I realize some people prefer their musicals go easy on the political metaphors.)
This was even more a problem since Depp made the reasonable choice to play Todd as a deeply depressed person with occasional bursts of manic violence. Most of the time, I didn't believe the co-stars had enough energy to kill a mouse, much less a man.
I'm normally a fan of Carter, but she did the film no favor. And I seriously spent the movie wondering whether Sondheim had become senile that he would give that casting his seal of approval (as he did in every interview I read).
Even worse, I thought, was Helena Bonham Carter playing Mrs. Lovett as if the poor woman were heavily sedated with Xanax.
What drives the plot is the meeting between Todd's passion for revenge and Lovett's mindless but obsessive quest for capitalist success. Without the latter's manic and increasingly desperate energy, there are no meat pies and no story. (And no comment on the amorality of the bourgeoisie, but I realize some people prefer their musicals go easy on the political metaphors.)
This was even more a problem since Depp made the reasonable choice to play Todd as a deeply depressed person with occasional bursts of manic violence. Most of the time, I didn't believe the co-stars had enough energy to kill a mouse, much less a man.
I'm normally a fan of Carter, but she did the film no favor. And I seriously spent the movie wondering whether Sondheim had become senile that he would give that casting his seal of approval (as he did in every interview I read).
