Sweeney Todd

Picture yourself having been falsely accused of an unthinkable crime, and as a result being sent away, imprisoned, and losing your beautiful wife and daughter, not to mention your livelihood and your reason for being. Once you're freed, you've got sharp objects at hand, you know where the double-crosser is, and you've got nothing to lose.

That how we first meet Victorian-era barber Sweeney Todd (an intense and inscrutable Johnny Depp), as he sails toward darkest, dreariest London and his target. He sings No Place Like London ("There's a whole in the world like a great black pit, and the vermin of the world inhabit it; and its morals aren't worth what a pin can spit, and it goes by the name of London…") and relays the tale in tune of how he lost his family and foretells his plans to find his fortunes on Fleet Street.

Once there, he meets beleaguered baker Mrs. Lovett (she of the "worst pies in London", played with pith and pathos by Helena Bonham Carter), and the two form an unholy alliance. It's a recipe for success: Soon Lovett's mystery meat pies are the most consumed in town, and Todd  closes in on his unsuspecting quarry.

Most everyone is familiar with the source material — Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was a hit Broadway play, then a couple of TV versions starring Angela Lansbury and Patti Lupone, respectively — but even if you're not, director Tim Burton's version is almost sure to satisfy the appetites of fans of both horror and musicals.

For me, it was more "almost" than "sure".

I crave a new Depp movie as much as the next girl; I devour horror on a daily basis; and I like to sink my teeth into the occasional musical (as long as they're edgy, i.e., Cabaret, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Moulin Rouge). I thought the vocals, lyrics, sets and costumes were impressive. The bright blood, ruddily reminiscent of Mario Bava and Hammer Films —  brought about by quick and shocking slashings — was welcome. Depp's and Bonham's acting and chemistry is undeniably fantastic.

It's a close shave; while I delighted in many aspects of the bleak fable, there were just as many that left me wanting. I was hoping that Burton would have rocked the tunes out a bit, or perhaps done some kind of a twist on the tedious stage-musical cadence that's so familiar. He didn't. The cinematography, while aptly reflecting the darkness of the story and situations, is surprisingly uninspired. The subplot, focusing on a romance between Todd's long-lost daughter and an earnest young suitor who has no idea of her heritage, is fallow.

While I may not be singing its praises note for note, this certainly is the only gory, grim gothic musical curio out in theaters this Christmas — and for that reason alone, it's a gift to attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson