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

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  TheMovieDiorama

  7 / 10

  Sweeney Todd is most likely the goriest musical you'll ever see. "I'll steaaaal youuu Johaaaaanaaaa" *slashes an innocent man's throat* "Johaaaaanaaaaaa" *stabs neck with razor*! The unusual blend of yearning for love and slicing necks vengefully, yet oddly it works. Based on the infamous musical, an English barber returns to London after being exiled to seek revenge on a Judge who took his love away from him. How does one cure vengeance you might ask? Well, murder customers with a razor and process their cold bloody corpses into meat pies. Simple really, duhhhh. To recreate the Victorian melodramatic musical, you need someone who can visually entice you with gothic imagery. Someone who can balance gore and whimsical musicality. Obviously one candidate for the mighty task: Tim Burton. His notorious gothic and dark fantastical mind was perfect in adapting the musical. He is able to recreate specific stages that both replicated the musical production and created an entirely new cinematic edge. Whether it be Sweeney melodramatically singing to his razor blades or Mrs Lovett picturing her perfect life whilst grinding corpses, it all works as a surreal nightmare. Excessively gory which, again, sets itself apart from others. Depp and Bonham Carter both had strong vocals and gave committed performances that separated this from your typical cheesy musical, particularly the former's singing ability which really suited the role of Sweeney. A hint of 'Oliver Twist' with all the "Laaaandaaaan!" accents and a splash of "Sleepy Hollow" for the veil of darkness that shrouds Victorian London. The songs were enigmatic, particularly various renditions of the same song, however weren't really memorable. The second act unfortunately dragged due to the extensive melodrama and thin plot. Then the ending was far too rushed and concluded abruptly. Yet somehow, somewhere...it's one of the stronger entries in the genre (and I hate musicals). Dark, moody and edgy, serve me up a famous Mrs Lovett meat pie now because I'm taking a bite!

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