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Monday, Oct 13, 2008
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Johnny Depp meets Stephen Sondheim in fiendishly good Sweeney Todd |
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| Johnny Depp meets Stephen Sondheim in fiendishly good Sweeney Todd | |
| by Ron Anders -
SGN A&E Writer SWEENEY TODD OPENS DECEMBER 21 My broad grin during the title sequence of Tim Burton's film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street had nothing to do with its content. It was my expression of delight that the film's creators were setting just the right tone for this maniacal, seriocomic tale of revenge and regret - with crimson as the color of choice. In this CGI-enhanced sequence, we watch a stream of blood gradually turn into a torrent, making its way down the filthy streets, nooks and crannies of 19th century London - paralleling the story's relentless path toward its blood-soaked climax. The film ultimately does not live up to the high expectation set by this brilliant prologue, but it has a lot to recommend it - often succeeding admirably in capturing the spirit of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway triumph (a sort of murderous operetta), which has taken 28 years to arrive on the screen. The story of Sweeney Todd had been told in a number of literary and theatrical forms before Sondheim decided to set Christopher Bond's version to music. Since its musical debut on Broadway, there has been much talk of adapting it for the screen - and rumor mills always seemed to evidence a production on the verge of occurring. Since production on the film actually began, theater buffs have been gnashing their teeth about whether Hollywood would do justice to this legendary musical thriller. When I heard that the screen version of Sweeney Todd was in the hands of director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp, I breathed a sigh of relief. If any two talents could translate this bloody, Grand Guignol entertainment into cinematic terms, I thought, it was these two artists, whose sense of the macabre has been honed to perfection, both in their films together and individually. For the most part, I was right - although I suspect that Roman Polanski could have done a bang-up job, as well. Sweeney is the tale of a barber, wrongfully imprisoned for many years, who returns to London to learn that his wife has killed herself and his daughter is in the hands of the evil judge who condemned him to exile. Wielding his razor (and a new identity), Todd exacts bloody revenge on those who wronged him. Aiding him is Mrs. Lovett, his landlady, who turns his victims into meat pies, simultaneously saving her faltering pie shop and eliminating evidence of Todd's butchery. They make fiendishly enthusiastic partners in crime. The answer to the question on everyone's mind - can Johnny Depp handle one of the most demanding musical roles that the American theater has given us - is a resounding yes. While obviously not a trained singer, he executes the songs with stirring conviction. His performance harrowingly underscores the barber's grief and seething appetite for vengeance. Todd's final leap over the edge into insanity is utterly chilling. The other standout in the film is Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), whose hilariously garish portrayal of Signor Pirelli (Todd's duplicitous rival barber) almost steals the show. Alan Rickman makes an appropriately detestable Judge Turpin. Almost derailing the film is an oddly inert Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett. She looks beautifully sodden, strikingly reminiscent of the young Bette Davis in Of Human Bondage. The actress gives us a subtle, sexy spin on her character, but never lets loose in the role - and her blandness takes the bite out of her chemistry with Depp. Especially disconcerting is her lackluster approach to Sondheim's brittle, witty songs. Burton keeps the film jumping at a breakneck pace, assuring that his audience stays breathlessly enthralled. Sometimes, however, the pace seems just too rushed - as if the screenwriter was trying too hard to squeeze a three-hour musical into two hours of screen time. The film's ending, in particular, felt too abrupt. Though some songs have been abridged (and some eliminated), great care has been taken to honor the basic musical design of the piece. (For this Sweeney fan, especially lamentable is the omission of "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," which might have elegantly bookended the film.) Nevertheless, it is a sweet surprise that tinseltown has been daring enough to keep this dark tale relatively intact. Burton's expert production team includes Dante Ferretti, whose sumptuously gothic production design is a feast for the eyes and is captured beautifully by Dariusz Wolski's inventive photography. Does the film match the power of the gargantuan original 1979 stage production with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou? Nope. Does it eclipse the brilliantly minimalist 2005 revival with Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris? Afraid not. But it does commendably create a cinematic equivalent of Sondheim's ghastly, fascinating vision - thus honoring his unique musical genius. Sweeney Todd is a good - sometimes very good - movie. It just misses being a classic. |
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