Sweeney Todd Slashed His Own Throat

[dotinthesky]

2008, you are letting me down. The first film I watched on TV was the disastrous Catacombs; and now I've got my disappointing visit to the cinema to see Sweeney Todd: The Demon of Barber Street to add to the list. I'm starting to wonder if Tim Burton has ever made a good film. Sure, there are some decent, entertaining stuff out there; but I don't think he's actually done anything great. This one will certainly not change the stagnant patch his career has hit.

The best word to describe Sweeney Todd, as Kevin said last night, is trite. Whoever had the godawful idea of filming it as a musical deserves to have their necks slashed and their innards turned into pie. To take a "penny dreadful" such as Sweeney Todd and turn it into a musical is the equivalent of building a Disney resort right in the middle of London, and having a Coca-Cola branded Jack the Ripper greet its visitors. It's wrong. The musical aspect takes away from its grand guignol, its dark humour. It's as if Tim Burton doesn't have the guts (so to speak) to go all the way with his vision. Film execs, rejoice in all the musical lovers who will fill your theatres. Too bad so many people will leave the theatre not wanting to learn more thanks to the film's disposable nature.

I don't mean to say that the film should have been devoid of music. It could have worked if, for example, each character sang in a style fitting his station, his background. Operas, sailor songs, folk music from the period. Anything would have been better than the insipid, horrid musical numbers that lumber the film like rocks. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman - three actors getting better in what they do as they grow older - are thrown away in a visually beautiful but forgettable film.

God, I hate musicals.

Comments

[amberholic.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that the fact that it's a musical is the only thing putting me off from wanting to watch it. I usually quite enjoy Tim Burton's films, more for their style than substance, but I never thought he was well suited for musicals. The Corpse Bride would also have benefitted from not being a musical, and at least the story and setting was a bit more appropriate for a musical than Sweeney Todd.

That said, I do think he's done some pretty good films. Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas... but I guess none of them were masterpieces.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

For myself, most of his films are entertaining, passable, but none are masterpieces (though Ed Wood comes close).

[amberholic.livejournal.com]

Ed Wood is probably the only Tim Burton film I've never watched. I think I'll have to add it to my rental list.