The dogs are at the groomers all day, Kimberly is at work, so what to do to pass the time away from an empty dog-less house? Why, see an 11:05am matinee of "Sweeney Todd"! Even though it is a Johnny Depp film, the preview of "graphic bloody violence" was too great an obstacle for Kimberly to overcome, so a solo trip to the theater would have to be in store for Chris. Here's the trailer:
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is a film adaptation of the 1979 Stephen Sondheim musical. Bright and cheery Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) is a mild-mannered barber with a beautiful wife and lovely young daughter. When an evil judge (Alan Rickman, the outstanding angel from the film "Dogma") views Mrs. Barker and wants her for his own, a trumped up charge is brought against the barber and he is sent away to prison for life. The beautiful woman, with accompanying daughter, is now the judge's to be had.
15 years later, Barker somehow returns to London via ship. Dark and brooding, he changes his name to Sweeney Todd and vows revenge. He makes an acquaintance with Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) who runs a local meat pie bakery. He rents the upstairs from her, which at one time he resided in while Barker, then proceeds to exact his revenge. Revenge on one turns to revenge on all of humanity. But what to do with the bodies? Hmmm....meat pie, anyone?
The majority of the film is sung. Depp and Carter, historically not known for their singing, perform wonderfully. Per the usual Tim Burton film, the scenes are dark, the makeup ashy, and the story a touch twisted. "Graphic bloody violence" is indeed in full force here. I mean, how else to off someone while in a barber's chair? The blood however forsakes true realism in favor of a thick, bright, syrupy viscosity; the brilliant ruby hue is one of the few brightly lit spots in this otherwise somber atmosphere. Still, I couldn't bring Kimberly to see it even warning her to shield her eyes from the upcoming carnage.
Secondary storylines involve a sailor who befriends Todd on the ship who falls smitten for the judge's ward Johanna. That's right, the judge's ward: Todd's daughter. Another involves Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat; Da Ali G Show) as a flamboyant barber rival with a boy apprentice. The boy joins the Todd/Lovett team after "becoming unemployed". But it's best not to pry or know too much.
A twisted tale with engaging songs, subtle (and not-so-subtle) turns, irony, and tragedy. A good movie when all is said and done. Just watch out for those bloody neck pumpers.
Way back when, we had a fledgling site called kcgordon.com that included a movie section of films we've seen. We "invented" a Gordon Movie Scale based on how much of your hard-earned money it was worth investing in the film. This included from worst-to-best:
- Avoid
- Wait for HBO
- Order PPV
- Matinee
- Full-Price
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" scores a rare "Full-Price" from Chris, and due to the gratuitous gore, an understandable "Avoid" from Kimberly.
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