When I found myself with nothing better to do on Thursday I figured, since the weather was nice enough, I would walk up to the movie theater. Truth be told, it is over two miles away (2.18, according to Mapquest) and it may not have been the best idea considering just how out of shape I am. My feet hurt for the next 2 or 3 days and I have been deterred from doing it again, at least for now.
The movie I walked two miles to see was “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) was a barber who had a beautiful wife, Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly,) and a lovely baby daughter names Johanna (Jayne Wisener.) Jealous of Barker’s happiness, Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) has Barker arrested and sent to jail so that he can have Lucy and Joanna for himself.
15 years later, Barker returns, but he is not the same man. Barker is dead and a new man, Sweeney Todd; a man filled with rage and vengeance has taken his place. He returns to his old barbershop on Fleet Street and rents if from Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bodham Carter) who owns the meat pie shop below. Mrs. Lovett tells Todd that his wife drank poison and Turpin now has Johanna.
Todd is determined to get Judge Turpin to come for a shave so that Todd can kill him and finally get revenge. In the meantime, he makes it his mission to rid England of the scum that inhabit the streets; the lowlifes who no one will miss. He invites them up for a shave and they are never seen again. He modifies the barber chair and dumps the bodies into the basement where Mrs. Lovett makes them in to meat pies and serves them to her costumers.
This is not your mother’s musical. It is dark, violent and bloody. If there was anyone to direct the movie version, it had to be
Tim Burton. He is best known for movies like “Edward Scissorhands,” “Nightmare Before Christmas,” and the first two Batman movies. He is all about the dark and macabre. In short, this musical was made for him.
He does a great job of capturing the darkness of the material. There is really nothing upbeat about anything in the movie. Death, corruption and, lets face it, cannibalism are all over every inch of this movie. It is not “Hairspary” folks, so to go in expecting happiness and light would be a huge mistake.
What is surprising is that very few, if any, of the performers in the movie had singing experience before filming began. Now, the singing is not the best ever heard in a musical, but it is still good.
Depp, one of Burton’s go-to actors, gives another great performance. He plays Sweeney Todd as a dark and menacing character. All he wants is revenge for what happened to his wife and child. He will do whatever it takes to get his daughter back and avenge his wife that he will kill anyone who threatens his mission. He is so focused on this obsession that he misses some key things that are right in front of his eyes, namely the crush that Mrs. Lovett has on him and the advances she is making.
Depp has a pretty good voice. At first it is off putting to hear him sing because he does not sound like a classically trained singer. He is able to convey the rage and anger that is within Todd in what singing talent he does possess.
This is not your run of the mill, happy go lucky, feel good musical. It is dark and bloody, but I liked it. Last night the film won a Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy and musical and best film: comedy or musical. I think “Juno” deserved the Golden Globe for best musical or comedy, but I am not a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press, so I do not get a vote.
7 out of 10
Rated R for graphic bloody violence
1 hr 57 mins
In every single review I write, I try to do justice to the movie. When I bash a movie I point out the flaws and the general horridness of it. Those are the easy ones to write. When I love a movie, it is harder. I feel a need to make the review better to show just how good the movie is.
This may be one of the hardest reviews I have written because I loved this movie more than any I have seen in a very long time. There was not one part of this movie I hated or even mildly disliked. If I gave out 10’s this would get one, but I still cannot bring myself to say a movie is perfect, not even a movie as perfect as “Juno”
Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) is a 16-year-old high school student who finds herself pregnant after having sex with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cerea). She knows she is not ready to have that much responsibility so she and her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) decide it would be best to give the unborn child up for adoption.
Juno finds an upper class couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) who are looking to adopt. With the support of her parents (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney), Juno makes tough choices and learns what it means to be an adult.
I recently put this in my top 10 list for 2007 and with good reason. It is funny, sweet, dramatic and touching. It was similar to other movies I have seen recently, but stood out at the same time. It was not cliché and went against what the normal Hollywood movie would have. It takes a very serious subject and looks at it in a different light. Juno’s parents are never angry to hear that she is pregnant. They are calm and offer to help her with meeting the parents and other pregnancy related issues.
With out a doubt, my favorite character is Juno. Page plays her with a witty sarcasm and attitude. She is strong and sure of herself, but, when she becomes pregnant, she finds herself dealing with issues way beyond her level. She shows a softer and more vulnerable side in a few of her emotionally weakened moments. Juno has become overwhelmed with this situation and it has taken a toll on her.
Juno has an attitude about her that is endearing. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to put things bluntly. She is
content to give up the child only if she approves of the parents. As things become more complicated, she finds her assurances begin to vanish and she is vulnerable.
Normally I cannot stand Michael Cera. He plays the awkward role way too much and it is annoying to see in every movie. In “Juno” he finds the perfect role for his acting style. It is Juno who wears the pants in the relationship. Paulie is, more or less, afraid of her. When Juno confronts him in school about his “girlfriend” giving her the stink eye, he gets flustered and stumbles over his words, but is still able to stand up for himself. It is a small moment of strength for a character who has been the butt of jokes for much of the movie.
I honestly could go on for a very long time about what I loved about this movie. Every performance is simply amazing, even from the lesser characters. The dialogue is smart, funny, poignant, sophomoric and very quotable.
Seeing as many movies as I do, it is hard to be this impressed and in love with a movie. There are times where I wish I had never had the idea to review movies. There are times where I wonder why I spend my time talking about, writing about and watching film. This is a movie that makes me truly happy that I have this as my passion. I rarely get to experience something as truly good as this.
9 out of 10
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content and language.
92 min
