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I went to Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd last week after months of anticipation. I had been a huge fan of the Broadway musical and was excited to see that I would get to discuss something I was interested in with my friends, who couldn't have cared less about the play.: \ Of course many viewers have acclaimed the movie as the best picture of the year, (I somewhat hope they did not see the play) while others bashed it for the bloodbath that they witnessed as Todd took his revenge among the people of Fleet Street. I wonder if the audiences opinions would differ if the all-star cast was taken away...
I myself was torn between my love of the play and my happiness that the play was made into a movie (Ok, and the Johnny Depp/Alan Rickman duet). I liked the movie and I'm sure it was even more amazing than I thought, but I had been brainwashed with my own dillusion that I would be seeing a play rather than a movie. I also entered the arena somewhat biased (not only did I kow that Johnny Depp would not be able to match the vocals of previous Sweeneys, but I also held a grude against Tim Burton for making me sit through those 90 minutes of hell that some people call Corpse Bride). Of course I wasn't expecting the play to be dupicated and recast, but there were changes that made me realize that Burton had butchered the Barber (ooooh what alliteration! hehehehehehehe).
Alright I'm going to separate all of my complaints into three catagories. The first is the completely unforgiveable stuff that makes me seethe just to think about. The second is the stuff that wasn't absolutly necessary but would have made the movie ten times better. The third is little nit-picky stuff that bug me and I personally think should change.
COMPLETY UNFORGIVABLE
* Where was the Ballad of Sweeney Todd? Nowhere. That's right! Why? Because there was no Company to sing it! The Ballad of Sweeney Todd is a recurring song throughout the story, mirroring Todd's shortening path toward revenge. I can somewhat understand why they didn't have the first and last parts because (a) in the first part Sweeney comes back from the dead. One of the lines he sings in this is "What happened then? Why, that's the play and he (Sweeney) wouldn't want us to give it away." The deliverance of this line suggests that not only is this just a atory (which is something that movies NEVER want to admit) and that the whole movie will just be a reeactment of Todd's story; and (b) the final version of the Ballad, where all the dead come back to life to sing this finale, once again it gives the sense that this didn't happen, where the movie may have wanted to leave with the "reality" of what the audience had just witnessed. However, it was quite unnecessary to cut out all of the about 8 versions that occur throught the story. They add emphasis to the fact that Todd has become a souless killer, rather than the movie's impression (that I had at least) that he was a lamentable man justly seeking revenge.
*This also really bothered me: Lucy (the begger woman) was not in the movie enough at all. Had I not seen the play, I would have thought that the fact that Lucy was Todd's wife was completely random. There were so many essential scenes for Lucy's character. The opening when Todd and Antony arrive in London, for example, should have included Lucy seeing Sweeney for the first time. This would have also been the moment when she realizes she has seen this man before and says "Don't I know you, mister?" Sweeney would have then pushed her away, unaware that this was his wife. This would have cause that audience to think back at the end and realized that if he'd given her the time of day in the beginning, he wouldn't have had to kill anyone at all, especially his own wife, whose "death" he was attempting to venge, ironically.
*In my opinion, they made a fatal error when casting Timothy Spall as the Beadle. The Beadle in the play had a remarkable tenor voice and was able to hit notes not even concievable by Spall. Oh when I heard his voice, I think somehow my heart was drilled into my lungs and I started quivering so much I was afraid I had movement disorder. I'm somewhat glad that they cut his song short because those 16 or so bars that he sang were utterly unbearable. And to top it all off, he seemed to have a progressing crush on Todd! I swear, every time he looked at him he seemed to be attempting to say "I want you Sweeney. And I know you want me and my disgusting voice. Aren't I pretty?" Honestly, I need to block that man out of my mind.
* Johnny Depp's reaction to his wife's death was slightly underplayed, I think. I mean, he just brutally murder his Lucy and all he can say is, "What have I done?" in that teeny little voice and then he proceeds to kill Lovett. Maybe I've been spoiled by George Hearn. Why don't you judge for yourself? Here's the link to Hearn's reaction. It's kind of in the middle-ish:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=n4alsWAdL0Q
I have to stop venting for now. I'll continue later....I've barely begun!!!!
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