When it was originally announced that Tim Burton was going to have his way with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter
in in a movie musical, people could be forgiven for being initial skeptics. Tim
Burton may know his way around fake blood and Johnny Depp is one hell of an
actor, but he hadn’t sung on-screen for almost two decades. However, if early
reviews have anything to say about it, coffin those fears: Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street
currently sits in the chair with a 100 percent Tomatometer.
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp
have worked practically every genre in their five collaborations, but
Sweeney Todd represents a musical first. Based on the Stephen Sondheim
play, the dark comedy centers around a barber and a baker who take a side job in
the business of murder. An inspired career choice according to
The Hollywood Reporter. “The show couldn’t have fallen into better hands,"
argues Kirk Honeycutt.
"With his sturdy acting and surprisingly good voice, Depp is a Sweeney Todd for
the ages."
“No matter how much product I put in it, my hair is still poofy!”
Movie City News‘s David Poland,
a big fan of the musical, confirms the movie should please newcomers and Sondheim fans alike: “The music is so magnificent.”
And Variety agrees the transition from stage to screen is a smooth one. “This represents one happy instance of a film made by a director without stage experience that genuinely serves the intentions of the original piece,"
writes Todd McCarthy, "Strictly in film terms, Sweeney is seamless,
coherent and vibrant, with scarcely a trace of ‘Broadway.’"
Along with Depp and Bonham-Carter, the film co-stars Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street opens
wide on December 21st.
