Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street / USA/UK / 2007

If I were able to compare their imaginations side-by-side, I always wonder if I would find any observable difference between Tim Burton and a 14 year-old Goth girl. Before I start ducking the inevitable barrage of scorn and vegetable produce that is bound to be thrown in my direction for making that comment, I should state that I was actually impressed with the gorgeous macabre imagery that Burton creates in his latest film. Unfortunately, I was less impressed with the songs, which is a difficult thing to recover from for a musical.

Also, I usually don’t get caught up in plot details, but after the hefty body-count that the film requires, it seems odd that they didn’t provide us with the outcome of the plot involving the two young lovers. It’s a loose end that I thought should have been addressed if we are going to watch all these people butchered in order to have the couple attain their apparent freedom.

by Chiranjit Goswami | Source: 35mm Print
31 Dec 2007 1:48 PM | Comments (4)

Comments / 4 total / Submit Comment

1. leo / 31 December 2007 / 11:16 AM / URL

   Well, you’ll probably only be pelted by Sondheim’s fanbase, which is quite large. Burton’s fanbase is probably less secure (or vociferous), his strangely high value in Hollywood notwithstanding. (Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory each made more money than the combined grosses of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Beetle Juice, Edward Scissorhands, and Ed Wood, all better films by a long shot.) The most common appraisal I hear of Burton these days is one of dismay, which is why I’m surprised to hear so many good notices for this new film. Especially as I think it looks terrible.

   And I’m as charitable to the “new” Tim Burton as anybody: I thoughtfully abstained from Big Fish, but I love Mars Attacks!, quite enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and didn’t even hate Sleepy Hollow (for reasons that probably need to be reexamined and questioned deeply). But generally speaking, if Burton is channelling his inner Goth girl again (think Winona in Beetle Juice), that can only be a good thing.

2. Megan / 1 January 2008 / 8:24 PM

   See, maybe Burton just appeals to my own inner 14-year-old Goth girl. I don’t know. Anyway, I went in liking this music, which helped me like the film. And though I agree about the story of the lovers being a loose end, it just doesn’t matter to me. They only exist to help Sweeney Todd’s vengeful goals comes to fruition— outside of their relationship to him and the plot machinations they effect, they don’t mean anything. I think I read that very Todd-ist narrative technique as intentional, but maybe it was a misstep. Still, the lovers were boring. And if they had escaped to safety, it would have been a sour note of hope in an otherwise deliciously bleak finale. (There’s that Goth girl!)

   Leo, if you liked the (in my opinion) abysmal Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, you should give this film a try.

3. Chiranjit / 3 January 2008 / 1:53 PM / URL

   I’m probably not the right person to judge this film anyway, considering that when Sweeney is interrupted by Anthony just before the barber is about to slice up Turpin, the snarky part of my brain kept thinking “well, you could have finished the judge off if you hadn’t spent so much time building to the crescendo of your tiresome song.”

   I do agree that the lovers were boring, but just having the girl escape from Sweeney’s murderous clutches seemed kind of a strange way to end their thread, considering Johanna is his daughter. Anyway, it’s a minor detail.

   Don’t get me wrong, Burton’s inner-Goth girl is sometimes quite amusing (especially if it’s Winona in Beetle Juice). I guess I just find that she’s not very consistent.

   Of course, I do love Mars Attacks!.

4. Adam / 25 February 2008 / 8:19 PM

   Surely it’s not the case that Burton has an inner 14-year-old goth girl but rather, that most 14-year-old goth girls have an inner Burton?