Tonight, for my friend’s birthday, we went to a local movie theater to watch the new Johnny Depp/Tim Burton film - Sweeney Todd. I found the movie to be, like many other Tim Burton films, disturbing yet oddly entertaining. The story revolves around a deranged barber who returns to London after a 15 year exile and wreaks his revenge on the people of London (but especially one man – a judge who exiled Todd on fake charges, raped his wife, then stole his daughter). The movie is rated R for “graphic bloody violence”, and with good reason. Ironically, the use of excessive blood serves more as comic relief than anything else. Ordinarily, I am easily frightened by horror films, but I find it hard to fear the character of Sweeney Todd. For this, I praise Tim Burton. How he turned a violent, vengeful, mass murdering barber into a sympathetic character, I will never know. The film is morbid, bloody, and gut churning, but thankfully not nightmare producing. I give it a recommendation for anyone that isn’t easily deterred by blood.
While Tim Burton has a frightening imagination, I still respect his abilities as a director. Should I ever be faced with some need to write a critical piece over the symbolism of a movie, I will certainly choose one of Burton’s films. The use of color and contrast is incredible. Color, costume, and minute actions throughout the film play a huge role in characterization. The scenes of Todd’s past life as Benjamin Barker, the happily married successful barber, are saturated with color and life. Todd’s present life is drained, monotone, and grim. When Mrs. Lovett fantasizes about life near the sea, happily married to Sweeney Todd, her visions of bright color clash with Todd’s grim expression and reserved actions. The effect is comical, but still essential to the scene. Basically, we all know this would never happen, so we don’t even hope.
Now that I’ve ruined the movie with critical commentary… you should go see it.
