Sweeny Todd: Goriest, Most Stylish Movie Since Sin City
I’ve not looked forward to many movies in the cinema for a while. The only thing that’s kept me going is the promise of Johnny Depp in Sweeny Todd. Honestly, there aren’t very many good actors out there and out of the few there are, Johnny Depp has got to be one of the best. If he starred in Lord of the Rings, it’d be the best trilogy ever. If he starred in Star Wars it’d be the best trilogy ever. If they hadn’t made the last two films of Pirates of the Caribbean, it’d be the best trilogy ever.
There’s no mistaking what Sweeny Todd is about. Opening credits show it all: Blood and romantic grotesquery. The movie starts off bloody and doesn’t go too far off track. The entire plot formula is simple, but you’ll watch it for the atmosphere. Burton’s rendering of Todd’s London is dirty and macabre and fun. The only thing that let it down for me was the singing. I have a low threshold for people belting out plot lines, and most of the movie is propelled by song lyrics. In fact, it seems like the trailers include pretty much all of spoken words (possibly the studio was worried a musical wouldn’t be so successful?) Still, some brilliant lines, like Todd’s repeated description of London. Brilliant acting too. Extremely Burtonesque, which is a good thing if you like his movies; an awful thing if you don’t.