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Sweeny Todd
Movie Review
January 1, 2008
Directed by Tim Burton
Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha
Baron Cohen, and Laura Michelle Kelly.
Backstory
Nothing says Christmas like a bouncy musical about a serial killer! But
seriously, I'm a huge fan of Tim Burton's, so I just knew I had to run out to
the theatre and see his latest opus. And plus, with the musical getting a
bit of a resurgence of late, I figured I should go see one on the big screen.
Plot
Benjamin Barker is a bitter man. For you see, the wicked Judge Turpin
coveted Barker's lovely wife Lucy. So, Turpin had Barker arrested for a
crime he didn't commit, and shipped him off to an Australian penal colony.
Now, many years later, Barker has returned to London. Barker's wife drank
a vile of poison after Turpin raped her, and now Turpin is setting his eyes on
Barker's daughter, who is now a grown woman. Barker begins to plot his
revenge. Adopting the new identity of "Sweeny Todd," he hatches his plan.
He'll go back to his old profession of barbering, and become the best in London.
And then, when Turpin comes in for a shave, Todd will slit Turpin's throat!
But then, this plot goes awry, and Todd decides to just start killing anyone.
Todd's accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, decides the best way to dispose of the bodies is
to grind them up, cook up the meat in her meat pies, and sell them in her pie
shop. With a tale of vengeance this twisted, you know it's only going to
end tragically.
What I Liked
This is actually a pretty scary movie. Definitely the bloodiest musical
ever. However, the musical numbers are fantastic. There's this one
where Mrs. Lovett sings of her and Sweeny Todd living "happily ever after," and
it's actually really funny given the context. Everyone can sing, in case
you were worried about that. And drunk children rock.
What I Didn't Like
I'm having trouble thinking of something that I didn't like. Probably that
Sweeny Todd just spends a lot of time just looking intense.
Final Assessment
Tim Burton's given us a classic.
4
Nibs
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