Movie Review: Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Rated R (and with very good reason)
Be warned - there are some spoilers below.

My hubby and I 'rented' this movie by On Demand the other day. Before I even pressed Play, I had a basic idea of the premise: Johnny Depp, in a musical, playing a 'demon barber'? Pardon me while I laugh...

The movie on the whole is just dark and deranged. You get that sense in the very first scene. Benjamin Barker, soon to be called Sweeney Todd (Depp), is returning from overseas by ship, alongside a sweet-faced kid named Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower). As they sail in to the harbor, Anthony is singing about how lovely and exciting London is... then Sweeney Todd cuts in and goes on about how London is actually a giant rat hole that chews you up and spits you out.

The first stop Mr Todd takes once on London shores is to a meat-pie shop owned by Mrs Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter); she openly admits (in probably the best song in the whole movie) that she in fact makes the worst pies in the entire city. We soon find out that the room above her shop used to be Barker's barber shop... abandoned since his wife died and his daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener) was taken hostage by the just-completely-evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman)... and Mrs Lovett was kind enough to hide away Barker's valuable shaving razors. Ah, it all ties together so well!

The next part of the movie is fairly predictable: Anthony finds and instantly falls in love with Johanna; The Barber Formerly Known As Benjamin Barker rebuilds his business while seeking revenge on Judge Turpin (who is, for lack of a better term, a complete jacka**).

But then the movie takes a turn that is at once both hysterical and disgusting. Sweeney Todd murders a rival barber (Sacha Baron Cohen) who recognizes him from the past... and conveniently disposes of the body by giving it to Mrs Lovett to stuff in her pies. Before you can say 'cannabalism anyone?' Sweeney Todd is murdering clients left and right (he sets up a clever chair that tilts back to dump the bodies down a chute in to the basement), and Mrs Lovett's pie shop becomes an overnight sensation.

But there are still questions to be answered. Will Sweeney Todd ever have his revenge on Judge Turpin? Will Anthony be able to sweep Johanna off her feet? And will the fine folks of London ever realize what kind of meat really is in those pies? Well, I won't spoil it all for you. All I will say is that there is a crazy twist in the last 10 minutes of the movie that will leave you either totally satified OR wishing there was more... depending on how you liked the rest of the movie.

Stacey's Rating: I give this movie 3 whole pork chops and one partially nibbled one, for a total of 3.5/5 PORK Chops. It's definitely not a waste of time, but some parts may be too disgusting for squeamish folks like yours truly.