By Faith McQuinn

I saw SWEENEY TODD today with two of my best friends. One friend loves the musical and thinks it’s the best thing to hit the stage. The other friend knew nothing about the story except for what she saw in previews. The musical loving friend hated it. The other friend liked it. And me? Well, I liked it too. It’s dark, grotesque, and mildly humorous—everything a girl could ask for from a Burton film.

I am a huge Tim Burton fan, and I believe the man can do no wrong. (We’ll just ignore that little blip called PLANET OF THE APES.) I’m also a big fan of musicals. I know that it’s unnatural for people to just bust out into song in the middle of the street, but it’s just so damn entertaining. With these two factors riding on my shoulder, I knew--even before the very bloody opening credits scene started--I would enjoy this movie.

Johnny Depp stars as Sweeney Todd, formally Benjamin Barker, a talented barber who’s returned to London after being imprisoned by the sinister Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman). Upon his return, Todd discovers his wife poisoned herself and his daughter is now the ward of the judge. With the help of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), Mr. Todd seeks vengeance on the judge and every one else that’s done wrong in the world. He cuts their throats, and Mrs. Lovett cooks them in her famous meat pies.

There’s tons and tons and tons of candy-apple red blood, enhanced sounds of arteries opening and necks crunching, and of course, there’s the singing.

As far as the singing goes, it’s definitely no Broadway musical.  Alan Rickman should really, really stick to talking. Who would expect a man with such a lovely speaking voice to have such a grating singing voice.  Depp and Bonham Carter, on the other hand, both have good voices for being untrained. But the vocal stars of the film are definitely the supporting cast. 


Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays sailor Anthony Hope; Jayne Wisener, Todd’s daughter Johanna; and Ed Sanders, the assistant boy Toby all blow the lead characters out of the water with their bigger, bolder voices. It seems strange to me to have a cast so unbalanced. If you were going to make a musical with untrained vocal leads, wouldn’t you want the whole cast to be untrained? Guess not. All I know that as far as singing careers, the leads should stick to their day jobs, but the supporting cast will definitely be seeing more stage in their futures.

Acting and singing aside, the star of SWEENEY TODD is the set design. As with all Burton films, the look is highly stylized and slightly surreal. All the bright colors are muted and swallowed by the grays, making London into the “whole in the world like a great black pit” of which Sweeney sings. The best, and oddest, sets are those presented during Mrs. Lovett’s song “By the Sea.” As she sings of the life she could lead, the audience is taken on a visual acid trip. Technicolor skies, super white beaches, with brightly colored costumes abound, and there in the middle of it all, are the dark-eyes and pale faces of Todd and Mrs. Lovett.


SWEENEY TODD is not my favorite Tim Burton film. It’s good but not amazing, and I’d only recommend to those who like musicals. I don’t care if you’re a bigger Burton fan than I; if you don’t like musicals, don’t see this movie. If the red of Santa’s hat isn’t enough red for you, and you’re just dying to hear Johnny Depp sing, see SWEENEY TODD.