SWEENEY TODD: DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

SWEENEY TODD DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET NEEDS A SHAVE "Narrator: This is the tale of an ordinary man, who had everything... Barker, his name was. Benjamin Barker. Narrator: Until a man of power stole his freedom, destroyed his family and banished him... for life. And in his sorrow a new man was born." I love Johnny Depp. I love Helena Bonham Carter and I love Tim Burton. There was a lot of love and anxious anticipation waiting for this film to release in December (but is now on DVD). Maybe I was tossed on my head as a child, but I did not love this film. There, I said it, the awkward truth comes out. 'Everyone' was nervous about the singing; could Depp and/or Carter sing well enough to make this movie magic. Once out, 'everyone' was shocked and amazed, yes they could sing, he more passably than she. The movie looked good, the dark images that Burton has been so skilled at perfecting. Yes, it was also lots of blood. There were lots of blood in the Kill Bill series, but since 'everyone' liked Burton more than Tarantino (and I see 'their' point) the violence and blood letting was okay. The acting was flawless. So where did it go wrong? I usually love those awkward movies and predicted that it would be accepted fondly or die a celluloid death. After much inward speculation, I finally got it down to Broadway. This film was a "Broadway" musical. It wasn't a musical like Across the Universe; it was a Broadway musical. That was the key that I did not anticipate. I loved Chicago and that was a "Broadway" musical, but there was something that just lacked in this film. There was a whole set up, everyone and everything was pretty, albeit dark. Yet, when the singing began it was tiresome. Perhaps I expected that Burton's take on musicals would be different. I wanted to love it so very much, but instead was terribly let down.
NOT a pick: Entertaining, but not sustaining enough for a full length film.