It’s not exactly Newsies.

I know there are no Vincent Minnelli-style dance numbers in Sweeney Todd. Though that would be quite surreal, wouldn’t it.

I think it works, it was just that I didn’t really feel much when it was over. I was just worn out by it all. I’m still trying to reconcile my response to the film…I’m not honestly sure if I like it or not but I have a deep respect for the individual efforts behind the film. A lot of folks really put their all into it and I can see that on-screen.

From what I’ve heard she is the weakest singer. But the timbre, the sound of her voice is pretty to my ear. And whereas Depp didn’t bother to get any training – he made other choices for his preparation – HBC did take voice lessons. For that I commend and respect her. She really put the effort in, and I guess maybe I’m going easy on her because she did that.

I’ll definitely let you know what I think after I see the film. But I have a feeling I’m going to like it a lot. :-)

(do you ever feel you’re at war with someone who has to have the last word???)

Anyway, I think there’s a 50/50 chance you will dig the Burton Sweeney and as I said, it will come down to how well the changes work for you.

If you’re in love with the Lansbury version of Lovett, HBC is going to be tough to swallow, but she’s so enjoyable I hope she works for you. She really goes a long way to brightening the gloom without losing the edge on the story. The perfect counterpoint to the darker more brooding Johnny Depp.

The Rolling Stones cover is a great example. Their songs are great, and as with many great songs, there can be different interpretations. All of them can work.

The film is its own thing, not the show. And I plan to judge the movie for what it is by itself.

I can see how these changes would be hard for people who truly love a certain version of the musical. It’s like hearing someone cover my favorite Rolling Stones song. It’s just wrong.

Still, I’ve learned there are some very very good Rolling Stones covers. I still have my favorite originals, but the variety is nice.

You seem open minded enough Alison that I have hope you’ll find something to like with Sweeney even if it doesn’t match up with your perfect vision. I suspect that if you don’t care for it, it will be because you didn’t care for the choices that were made more than because you weren’t open to something new in the first place.

Unless I’m reading you wrong. We shall see.

And some people were genuinely disappointed, and not necessarily by the blood/gore and/or the singing. Some people know the show backwards and forwards, and had a hard time leaving their preconceptions aside. The big complaint that seems to crop up over and over isn’t the cut songs or cut parts, although I have seen that too. It’s the interpretation of the characters, specifically the leads, that bothered people.

Many fans are used to a brassier Mrs. Lovett. Bonham-Carter does not have the vocal power to do a brassy Mrs. Lovett, plus I don’t think it would fit her. Being the gifted actress that she is, she chose a characterization that worked for her and that fit what she could do vocally. Many die-hard fans found her interpretation of the character suprisingly refreshing. Others missed the louder, brassier Mrs. Lovett. Likewise, I read complaints about Depp’s characterization of Sweeney Todd. Several people reported that they found it unsatisfying.

It’s important to go in without expectations of what one knows from the show, but in the end they’re not going to please everybody. And as I said somewhere on here, my mother refuses to even go to see the movie. For her the Lansbury/Cariou version is the one.

Fair enough I suppose, but I thought it helped magnify the emotionality (is that like Wessonality?) of the red red blood gushing.

Plus, when you think about it for a second, this is a really sad story. The first blood doesn’t flow (except for the credits) for 45 minutes and that whole time is a complete downward spiral for Johnny Depp.

By the time he kills his first victim, you’re really feeling his anger and bitterness and you’re just waiting for it to hit the fan….and it does. Over and over and over again.

But then of course it takes another turn as he misses out on his chance of maybe finding true happiness with his cobbled together family because he can’t see beyond his obsession and….well you know how it all turns out.

I don’t know though. I’ve heard lots of different responses from a lot of different people. Another huge fan of the musical was very disappointed that Beadle’s part was trimmed back.

Other people have been enraptured by the whole thing.

It’s not in my top 10, but I ilked it quite a bit.

I hope the Academy at least nominates him for Best Actor. He deserves the attention.

Supposedly Depp did record the songs for Cry Baby, but the director wanted a more Elvis-like sound for the songs. That’s why he was dubbed.

I can appreciate the sheer technical craft behind Sweeney Todd and not having seen the material performed live, I can only imagine that this is possibly the most faithful and reasonable film version possible. Depp and Carter both carry their characters well, evening out their dreadful, monstrous behavior with some pathos mixed in. Depp really handled the singing well and I liked his take on it. Wasn’t he in a band at one point? And let’s not forget he began his film career as a leading man in John Water’s Crybaby. The kid’s got some pipes.

It’s a joy to see the wonderful actors Timothy Spall and Alan Rickman chewing scenery somewhere other than Hogwarts. Rickman has been the best part of every single Potter movie he’s been in but it’s criminal that his screen-time has been so limited. I’m dying to see him do something other than play Severus Snape.

As much as I have enjoyed Sasha Baron Cohen’s work, I’m already starting to find him annoying. The second he showed up on screen, the 20 or so people in the theater with me laughed at him every second he was on screen, even when he wasn’t actually doing anything. I think he’s a very smart comedian and a potentially gifted actor, but I thought here he was doing just another variation on his wacky European guy schtick. He reminds me of Robin Williams, who’s been coasting on manic energy and the same stock vocal antics for decades now. I was glad Cohen was only briefly in the film. The response to his presence was annoyingly distracting.

But I digress…

For me, Sweeney Todd may have been a little too much of a good thing. I struggle with the Sondheim musicals and I struggled with Sweeney Todd’s narrative. I struggle with copious gore in modern horror films and I struggled with Sweeney’s more gruesome scenes. I struggle with Tim Burton’s obsession with all things gothic yet goofy and I struggled with Sweeney Todd’s tepid gloom and doom. It was so brilliantly executed and so technically spot-on but at the end of the movie I found myself struggling to figure out if it was worth it. I’m not sure. This is no Ed Wood, but it’s probably the most heart-felt and assured film that Burton and/or Depp have made since.

As for Oscar, man, I don’t know. Sweeney Todd is going to have to do a lot better than the smattering of Depp and Burton diehards that showed up late on Saturday morning for a holiday weekend matinee. The film’s blood may be technicolor, but the ragdoll corpses, cannibalism, and meat grinder were a lot to stomach. It was fairly dark, something that might be more acceptable to a wider audience in these CSI-influenced times but I don’t know.

Moulin Rouge, Chicago, and Dreamgirls it ain’t.

The red-orange blood business makes me think of Dawn of the Dead or other Seventies films, maybe because I watched Martin last night.

But how are you getting into all these advance screenings? Sounds as if you got your official critic’s licence. Did you have to hang by your pecs from eagle claws, or kill a wolf, or try to find something nice to say about Woody Allen’s post 1990 output? What’s the story?

Once again, Craig, the novel opener of your review really got me hooked. Way to reel ‘em in.

I can see by the hits I’m getting I stumbled into some passionate territory with this post! I’m glad I liked it or I think I might be getting eaten alive right now.

Scary. :)

Above, you gave a very astute response to Gina’s comment: “you sound like you have a personal stake in the movie”. It seems to me that so many people do have a personal stake in this movie. I guess it is because there are so many Johnny Depp fans (and many fans of the musical) who want to see both him and the picture win this year.

Thank you again for this feedback.

Glad to hear your thoughts on this Craig.

Even that comparison isn’t really fair because they’re totally different, but Day-Lewis was just something special to me. He didn’t do any singing though… :)

I’m definitely going to have to see this one again.

You sound like you have a personal stake in the movie. Did you work on it or are you just a really big fan?

“[The blood] seemed tied to an emotional component somehow…” That’s exactly what Burton was going for, that’s why he played it off that way. Glad someone took notice and saw it for what it was. :)

Thank you for an extraordinary review!!