Reviews by Matt

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