Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

I was in the mood for something a little different tonight, and as I looked over my options, I found Sweeney Todd staring back at me. I've been meaning to see it for a while. Actually, ever since my friends saw it in the theater (after I declined to go) and they came back surprising me with positive comments. I hadn't thought there was any way it could be good, but they seemed quite impressed. After that, I had to see it for myself. Well it's taken me 4 years, but today I finally watched it. Hit the jump to find out what I thought of the talented Johnny Depp and the always awesome Helena Bonham Carter in this morbid musical of murder.


The story follows Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) after he loses his family after being exiled from London on false charges. A judge envied him and wanted his wife, so he had Benjamin taken out of the picture. Fifteen years later, then man returns to find that everything he knew is gone; all taken from him by the same judge, Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman). He denouces his name and gives himself the new name of Sweeney Todd. He vows revenge on the judge, but when things don't go so easily, his murderous needs start to get out of control. Luckily, the woman who runs the meat pie shop below his barbershop, has a huge crush on him, and she knows exactly how to get rid of those pesky bodies.

Sweeney Todd is ready for action! Let the ruby flow!

My very few impressions of the movie, and for about the first 30 minutes or so were this: I didn't like it. I was STUNNED at how much singing there was. Sure, this was a musical, but there are almost no words simply spoken in the first portion of the film. Nearly everything is sung. The few times they did just speak, it was like a blast of fresh air and I could relax. After that first portion though, and the deeper we get into the movie, the more the ratio of talking to singing changes.

For me the movie was pretty much saved once Helena Bonham Carter got on screen. I'm not sure what it is about her, but she has a presence that just grips me and won't let go. She plays the meat pie woman Mrs. Lovett. It wasn't just her though, because it was shortly after her appearance that a larger portion of talking happened which was a huge relief.

There's just something about Helena Bonham Carter that always captivates me

I wouldn't say that the singing or songs would bad. A few of them I found enjoyable, and a few more still grew on me as the song might pop up later in the movie again as a theme for a particular character. Generally though, the songs just weren't for me. I just don't really like these kind of songs. At least they were all clear as to what was being said, and they did rhyme.

Speaking of the songs and music, my favorite part of the whole movie was when the Mrs. Lovett character starts dreaming and fantasizing about what her future life could be like with Sweeney Todd. She also keeps calling him "Mr. T" which is funny. Anyways, she keep singing about them living by the sea and on the beach. During the movie and in her fantasy, Sweeney Todd just keeps sitting there with his far off gaze as he obsesses with killing the judge. She tries her best to take his mind off of it, but even in her fantasy he's still just out of it, and I found it really funny. It's also probably the most colourful portion of the movie which was a nice change.

I love how he looks completely uninterested in being there

The last thing I should mention, and this is clearly why my friends ended up liking it so much, was the MASSIVE amount of blood and violence Sweeney Todd actually has in it. Throats being cut in full view and blood spraying everywhere. Even how the bodies are "disposed" of is gruesome. After the murder has been committed, "Mr. T" just has to hit a lever, the barber chair flips up-side-down and then the body slides into the basement, head first. Every time a body hit the ground, it sent a creepy feeling through me. They just look so heavy and realistic to me. Ewww.

By the end of the movie I was enjoying it quite a bit more than I was at the start. The singing had calmed down, there had been a few better songs in my opinion, and the murderous action had definitely picked up. It's just such a twisted and interesting looking movie, that I couldn't help be entertained by that at least. The acting was good, unless you don't like them breaking into song all the time. If you don't mind a lot of blood and murders in your movies, this will probably be a good one for you if you can get past the weird musical aspect of it.