Awfully macabre stuff, but the musical, and to a lesser extent the film, still managed to find the humanity in Todd, casting him not as a repugnant murderer, but as a poor family man who has been tormented past the point of no return. Both the film and the musical also manage, though it may seem odd, to find humor in the goings-on. Mrs. Lovett's pies and machinations as well as Todd's rival Pirelli (played here by Sacha Baron Cohen) make what could be an absurdly dark tale into something slightly, but only slightly in the film, more lighthearted.
The recent Broadway revival of the musical, which started Michael Cerveris as Todd and Patti LuPone as Mrs. Lovett, was the immediate impetus for bringing forth a movie adaptation (though Burton had been toying with the idea for years). The musical was a pared down affair, with all of the actors and actresses playing instruments. It was quite the task, and it is easily understandable why Burton opted to not do such an interpretation of the work.
Perhaps, however, the main reason this film fails to work is its star, Johnny Depp. Depp has, in recent years, become a true box office star and has managed to move from commercial fare such as the Pirates of the Caribbean films to more art house movies like Finding Neverland with ease. Depp is, unarguably, a wonderful actor and usually a pleasure to watch on screen. However, as Sweeney Todd makes all too clear, he can't sing. Watching him attempt to do so during the film's nearly two hour runtime constantly reinforces that sad fact and makes one question why Burton chose him for the role. Some of the behind the scenes featurettes focus both on Depp's singing efforts and the collaboration in general, and all too often they seem like a case of "the lady doth protest too much," with Burton and producer Richard D. Zanuck talking about their initial trepidation over Depp singing which turned into pure bliss once they heard him. Only Depp acknowledges that perhaps, just perhaps, he is not up to the task.
Article comments
1 - vermontfudge
Well lots of movie goers and critics loved Depp's singing. For example, the New York Times music critic, who usually reviews opera, really admired his singing.
Depp is always self deprecatory, don't read anything into that. Seems like the more familiar people were with this musical and the degree of difficulty involved in the role, the more they appreciated Depp's singing.
2 - mombot
I agree with vermontfudge. The critics for the most part said Depp sang very well; most had less praise for Helena Bonham Carter's singing. I liked both leads, myself. She made Mrs. Lovett more sympathetic than is usually the case with that role.
Musicals on screen haven't been all that good in recent years in spite of good singers, to put it mildly. This one is wonderful and the moment I can get my hands on a Blu-ray (and the right tv to go with it) I'm buying this film to play on it first.