Review of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) by George A — 26 Dec 2014

I feel like the two stars are a bit of a stretch. Of course Sondheim's music is beautiful as always (at least the stuff Burton doesn't cut out) Depp is okay. This role fits him. Helena Bonham Carter, however, deserves to be baked in a meat pie.

Comparing her to Angela Lansbury, the original Mrs. Lovett is very necessary in reviewing her performance. Everything she says and 'sings' is in a whisper. The humor is taken out ad nausea. They play the movie like their dead.

The original energy and charm is destroyed, along with the clever counterpoints of Todd's psyche that Sondheim so brilliantly placed in his score. Rent the original stage version with Lansbury and George Hearn.