Movie Review.... Sweeney Todd

Do nRun. Do not walk. And add this to your dvd collection. I guarantee you will watch this over and over. Will admit I was sceptical when the film came out, and not so pleased with the clips I saw on the internet. Using untrained singers to film one of the best musicals ever written.... But it fucking WORKS. My copy arrived yesterday. And within two minutes I was hooked. It is rough-edged, but brilliant. And very creepy, oh yes... And tragic, and very bloody, which film can do and the stage usually can not.... It is a bit compressed in comparison to the stage version, but oh MY, that music makes your heart swell, not joking. It is all of one cloth, in its' look, the performances, the horrific story, underscored by the best music I have ever heard. I would even reccomend the two-disc version, because you get two hours of absolutely fascinating background, which most of those things never give you. Historians, experts, and of course, Steven Sondheim himself, who has never spoken so openly about this work before, to my knowledge.

Have seen three versions of this so far. And one of the real key roles is Mrs. Lovett. Angela Lansbury was the original and so 'dotty' it was hilarious. Patti LuPone was closer to the age of her Sweeney in the concert version, and added this very intense, 'am in love but it is hopeless' twist to it. Helena Bonham Carter in the film adds something very new. Absolutely amoral. Creepy... Love has nothing to do with it. Fascinating how someone can take a role and use the same text, and make it new. All of the Sweeneys I have seen are pretty much the same. Obsessed, tortured inside, and way out for revenge. Johnny Depp can be proud of what he created in this film, but he is renowned for being a 'serious' actor. And the score is one bitch of a difficult one... But he did it like a punk-rock star. And it worked.

And still, and still... it is always about the music, that wonderful score. I always go to pieces when little Toby does 'Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around'. But that has private reasons. I first heard it the first time Peter was hospitalised, and it blew me away. But every number in that makes my arm hairs.... the few that I have... stand up and gives me the shivers.

And all the rest of it. It is a very diabolical piece of work, actually. The music lifts you up, and the texts are so diametrically opposed, it can creep you out.

I guess that is what genius is.....

So... what are you waiting around here for? Go look. But above all.... listen. And no, it doesn't need a big screen. It's the music....