January 10, 2008 -- This is a very dark and dismal tale of injustice, madness, revenge and cannibalism. Released on Christmas, it is about as far from a Christmas movie as you'll probably ever see. It is positively brimming with bile, hatred, blood, lust, murder, cannibalism and ultra-dark humor. It is similar to watching a movie about cattle being killed and cut up at a slaughter house, but more entertaining. It is also comic in a very dark way.

This film teams up those long time collaborators, Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. Director Burton brings his usual dreary color palette (nearly black and white this time) to bear on the project, and Depp brings his usual dark intensity to the title role. It turns out that Depp can also sing. He does a nice job with the songs in this musical, as does Helena Bonham Carter (“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”), who plays Mrs. Lovett, who loves Todd and makes meat pies out of his many victims. Another standout is Sacha Baron Cohen, who was sensational in last year's hit “Borat.” He's outstanding again in this film as Signor Adolfo Pirelli, a rival barber who makes the mistake of trying to blackmail Todd when the two are alone and Todd has a razor handy. Alan Rickman (“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”) is excellent as the wicked Judge Turpin, but he is a much better actor than he is a singer. Timothy Spall (“Enchanted”) is another standout as the evil Beadle Bamford, Turpin's henchman.

Many people are presumably impressed by the Stephen Sondheim music (the film was adapted from a Broadway musical play) in this film. I was not. It sounded like standard theatrical music (not unlike the quality of the music in “Rent” and not as good as “Chicago” or “Dreamgirls”). Presumably, if you are really into Broadway musicals (I can take 'em or leave 'em) you will probably like the film's music better than I did. The acting is quite good by a very talented cast. The dark humor in the film also works, but there isn't enough of it. The mood of the film has little variation in it, like the film's color scheme and the Goth makeup style for Depp and Carter. I did appreciate the fact that the way things work out in the plot. There is a kind of justice, or karma that prevails at the end. The film's strong points are not enough for me to recommend it, however. I got pretty sick and tired of watching Todd's razor cut into throat after throat after throat. A little of that goes a long way. A lot of that is just plain disgusting. This film rates a C.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2008 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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