The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Sweeney Todd, about to give a "close shave" -- Picture courtesy of DreamWorks SKG

by blogSpotter
I went to see Sweeney Todd over New Years break, and I have to say that director Tim Burton's dark, turbulent vision was stunning in almost every respect. The actors seemed to be possessed by their characters, particularly Johnny Depp as the vengeance-addled Todd and Helena Bonham Carter as the diabolical Mrs. Lovett. I had always thought the story of the serial-killing barber was a new idea conceived for the 1979 Sondheim musical -- and what a morbid plot line for a musical. Turns out I was mistaken.

Sweeney Todd is definitely morbid, but the story is an English folk legend dating from the early 19th century. Crime writer Peter Haining has claimed that the story is true, but no records verify that a Todd ever existed or did what was claimed circa 1802. The story first appeared in print in 1846 in The Peoples Periodical; Thomas Prest was the author and it's speculated that he mixed together several crime stories and then embellished what he had. Both in the play and the 2007 movie, the barber's victims are sent by trap door to Mrs. Lovett's butchering basement to be turned into meat pies. This is an urban legend that was later added to Prest's already incredible story of a wrathful barber who slits the throats of unsuspecting customers.

The story has been told so many times that character names and plot lines have branched into competing versions. In the new movie version, a young innocent Benjamin Barker (later renamed Todd) is sent away to prison on trumped up charges by Judge Turpin. Turpin is an unscrupulous man whose aim is to seduce away Barker's beautiful blonde wife while Barker is in incarcerated. Barker comes back from prison to find that his wife is apparently dead from suicide and Turpin has guardianship of Barker's 15 year old daughter Johanna. Barker becomes overwhelmed with rage and a desire for revenge. The story overall serves as a parable for the destructive power of anger. Barker changes his name to Todd and leases a shop above Mrs. Lovett's meat pies, on Fleet Street. He sets about killing unsuspecting customers with his shaving scalpel -- for practice and in anticipation of eventually killing Judge Turpin. Mrs. Lovett becomes his willing accomplice and common law wife. Together, they adopt a waif named Toby who only knows at the outset that his adoptive parents have a successful meat pie business.

Sweeney Todd calls to mind Little Shop of Horrors, where deserving dastards are fed to a carnivorous plant named Audrey. But Little Shop is constructively cynical; Seymour Krelborn is an unwitting accomplice and not evil himself. Only the bad guys die and eventually Seymour understands that Audrey must be stopped. In Todd, the innocent are killed along with the guilty and there is no apparent remorse over innocent blood being spilled. One understands that even if Todd was wronged, his deranged spite has turned him into a monster and he must be stopped.

Speaking of blood, Todd has lots of graphic violence; eight people are shown getting their throats slit in fairly slow motion (once during a rousing musical homage to Johanna). This isn't for the squeamish or small children; I closed my eyes when I saw it coming. There were other items of note. Sacha Baron Cohen plays the fop Signor Pirelli; he is so good in the role and so well made-up I wouldn't have recognized the actor from Borat without seeing the credits. Jamie Bower plays the sailor Anthony Hope, young suitor of Johanna. Bower is so androgynous, I wasn't sure if I was looking at a man or a woman even after seeing him full in the face. His full lips and doe eyes look positively feminine but he sings with a deep voice and at least in the movie's plot line is seeking a lady love. Normally such male leads have appeal to teenage girls; can't imagine a lot of young teens coming to see the Todd carnage unless maybe they're diehard Johnny Depp fans.

In sum, the movie is an awesome bit of story telling. The renderings of London in the 1850's, the monochromatic sepia tones, the eerie music all are important ingredients. Cannot say I've ever really seen a "horror musical" where the violence is so graphic and central to the plot. Never thought I'd recommend one for viewing until I saw this masterpiece over the weekend.

© 2008 blogSpotter