Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Tim Burton is famous for two things: contrast, and Johnny Depp.

When it comes to contrast, you could look at almost any Burton film to see it. Edward Scissorhands is so blackly slashed into the garishness of suburbia that he’s almost grotesque. In Corpse Bride, the underworld is - incongruously - much sunnier than the oppressive world of the living. Even Willy Wonka is deliberately shadowy in the context of his own colorful factory, suggesting his connection to the grayish world outside.

But there is no contrast more striking than that of a bright past with a grim present. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” takes place in 1840s London - a setting that is easily made smoky and gray. Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), prior to the beginning of the movie, has escaped from Australia, where he was sentenced to prison under false charges made by the corrupt Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who lusted after Todd's wife. With the help of a sailor named Anthony Hope (Jamie Campbell Bower), Barker returns to London, assumes the name Sweeney Todd, and returns to his old home on Fleet Street. There, he finds his former landlady, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who owns a pie shop beneath Todd’s former barber shop.

He learns the whole story. 15 years ago: having gotten Todd safely out of the way, Turpin raped Lucy, who then killed herself. This is all revealed in a harrowing musical number (“Poor Thing”), sung by Mrs. Lovett. It's also where Burton’s contrast comes into play. The present is steely and bluish, whereas the past - Lucy - is warm and golden, sometimes blindingly so. Towards the end of the number, when Lucy is attacked, the light becomes noticeably redder and more menacing. Todd’s anguished reaction to the tale causes her to recognize him as Benjamin Barker, and she informs him that his daughter, Johanna, is now Turpin’s adopted ward. The rest of the film centers around Todd's obsession with getting revenge on Turpin.

Meanwhile, the sailor Anthony Hope spots Johanna through one of Judge Turpin’s windows. He immediately falls in love with her, but Judge Turpin sees him staring at her; he and his assistant, the Beadle Bamford, beat Anthony and throw him from the house. Anthony is determined that he and Johanna will be together, and walks through the streets declaring his love, oddly devoid of expression.

Out in public, Todd humiliates a flamboyant rival barber named Adolfo Pirelli, by refuting his fraudulent hair-growth elixir, and by besting him in a shaving contest. Later, Pirelli and Toby visit the shop. Pirelli reveals that he knows Todd's true identity, and attempts to blackmail him - but then, things get nasty. In a murderous rage, Todd beats Pirelli unconscious with an iron kettle. Though Pirelli was also rendered senseless by Todd in the stage version, the kettle is Burton’s invention, and it adds a slight taste of what film editing can do where a live performance cannot. Todd dumps Pirelli in a chest, just before Toby runs through the door.

In a classic blunder, Pirelli’s hand has been left protruding from the chest; Todd is all too aware of it, and what follows is several minutes of well-acted tension. Depp’s face twitches nervously at times, and darkens grimly when Toby refuses to leave. There is no moment in which the audience is unaware of how dangerous Todd is, and even the otherwise-fearless Toby cowers. Once Toby leaves, none the wiser, the throat-slitting of Pirelli is expected and almost gentle in nature. This is the first appearance of a literal “fountain of blood,” and Burton mainly keeps the blood to only two scenes after that point.

Judge Turpin visits Todd for a shave, but just as Todd is about to slit his throat, Anthony bursts in, revealing his plan to elope with Johanna. Turpin leaves the shop angrily, swearing never to return. In the number that follows, an enraged Mr. Todd spits out a chilling monologue while imagining himself in the streets of London; he plans to indiscriminately kill his own customers while waiting for the Judge to return. Lovett suggests that they dispose of the bodies by baking them into her meat pies; Todd rigs his barber's chair with a trapdoor, so that he can deposit his victims directly into the bakehouse. The pie shop and barber shop prosper. Images of Todd cutting peoples’ throats are matched with an incongruously calm, dreamlike duet called “Johanna,” sung by Todd and Anthony from completely separate points of view.

As business thrives, it is Toby - of all people - who seems to be getting wise. Anthony discovers that Judge Turpin has had Johanna sent to an insane asylum as punishment. Todd uses Anthony’s rescue mission as an excuse to lure Turpin back to the barber shop...

And the rest is history. Sondheim’s macabre humor, paired with directing and casting that only Tim Burton could deliver, makes for a riveting (if gory) film with an ugly, tragic twist at the end. There are some fantastic themes, mostly having to do with the repercussions of obsession; and though one could argue that the gruesomeness was often excessive, it was limited to only a few scenes of many. There are many gorier films out there; the reason that it seems excessive is because the gory images were some of the most vivid. The bright red of the blood slashes through the grayness with violence that reflects the destructive nature of Todd’s madness.

The lead actors were mostly brilliant. Johnny Depp portrays Sweeney Todd as he was meant to be portrayed: as a man who has lost everything, and whose hate has finally consumed him. Helena Bonham Carter plays a “dark-eyed beauty” version of Mrs. Lovett, a woman who clings to images of her ideal life, and persistently looks to Mr. Todd to validate her fantasies (unlikely). Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall were woefully typecast to be slimy villains, but they do it so wonderfully that it’s difficult to complain. Jayne Wisener (Johanna) does her job, looking suitably sweet and young for the entire movie; it seems that she was chosen to sound and look innocent, which is forgivable, since that is all the character is. Jamie Campbell Bower, as an actor, shows little expression; during "Johanna," while covered in blood, he shows a slight snarl, which makes him look more homicidal than passionate.

However, the only significant complaints that can be made about the movie are the lead vocal performances. Though there was never a note off-key, the male voices were very forward and somewhat nasally; the female voices were largely pleasant, but weak and fluty. The strongest voice is undoubtedly Toby's.

Otherwise, the feeling portrayed through the directing and acting are nearly flawless. True to form, Tim Burton has undoubtedly done Stephen Sondheim’s stage musical justice. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” may not be fun for the whole family, and it might just not be your type of film; but if two hours of emotionally-charged, visually-stunning, blood-spurting masterwork is good enough for you, this film is a must. You will not be disappointed.