Bluntly
speaking?
At first - looking at trailers and such – you may think,
“Hmm, looks a bit like Depp and Burton crossed Edward Scissorhands
and Jack Sparrow to make the dreaded foul-minded barber.”
But trust dear viewer this is the world's finest character actor
and the genius of celluloid manipulations after all...
It is true
the themes are tre Burton and you’ll surely feel the wisps
of the maestro's musings. Hell it's the returning cast from Corpse
Bride for criminey...
But the stars
are stars for a reason. They steal the show and you’ll be
giddy by the final slicing. For those not in the know, Todd is
a musical. Singing in the London rains - but the lyrics are far
from "Oklahoma" so don't fret Goth babies.
The three
penny opera goes...Poor Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp). His life was
ruined and his spirit shattered by a powerful and evil judge (Alan
Rickman - who's still hot even at like sixty-something). After
escaping from years of hell-on-Earth plague-era prison somewhere
Todd (who used to be a barber named Barker) returns to London.
The old Shoppe
he lathered in is still there, though a tad in disarray. Below
is a weird wench who admits to having the town’s worst pies.
One Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham-Carter).
She is a savvy business woman and figures it’s about time
the rich give their all (quite literally) to the lower classes.
This idea
dawns as she realizes her love (Todd) is raving mad. But love
is blind, and she's got a few bolts shaken above as well; each
driven by their own agenda join in one murderous trist o' murderous
d' adjore.
There’s a whole lot of eerie abounding as you expect from
Mr. Burton. But you still hope Todd gets his revenge. Fear not
this is theater in its highest form and the finale is edible…
Dante Ferretti’s
production work brings that filthy era of London pre-inner toilet
days to macabre life. The men’s wear is hilarious in the
“cockle” area – well except Depp. Sorry
gals. There’s no smuggled sweet potatoes pressure popping
beneath Depp'd sateens here. He's in comfy wool blends like a
proper icon and looks ah-dorable in his puffy shirt - oddly even
with bladed appendages (again - ahem).
Oh, Borat
shows as comic relief – hilarious – and swiftly deleted
lest he upstage the duo of HBC & JD.
The music
of course is divine. The real songs are here and who knew Bonham-Carter-Burton
(Heimer-Schmidt) and Depp could sing? Well, those who know anything
about their filmography (but shush - you get my point). I have
yet to stop singing every word I've spoken since I departed the
darkened theater. Definitely make haste to gander upon this gem.
Thank you
again Mr. Burton. Thank you very much indeed sir.
Snack
recommendation: Alka Seltzer and vegetarian food for
a long – long time…and bring a tape recorder to copy
the body smooshing sounds as they leave the barber's chair to
use as diet enhancers. Then design an audio device tool to deliver
this sound when your fridge opens and viloa! you'll be thin in
no time at all.
Sweeney
Todd
