I went to see Sweeney Todd last night, to find out what everyone has been raving about. I wasn’t dissapointed. It’s classic Tim Burton, dark and sinister, with an almost black-and-white look to it, with the exception of the blood of course! It is very gory, but that was entirely appropriate for the film’s premise. Generally, I don’t like musicals, but this one really won me over. The singing was really good, with the actors obviously not being dubbed, the real standout being Toby, the little street urchin taken in by Todd and Mrs Lovett, who had a beautiful clear voice.
The story itself has lots of twists and turns and, as with a lot of Tim Burton films, you can’t help but empathise with even the most evil characters. My one disappointment was a very down-played role by Alan Rickman, an actor I’m used to seeing being arch and over the top. Seeing him being dour and stern was a bit jarring for me, especially when most of the other actors played their roles in a very flamboyant style; Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter in particular!
Be warned however: I wouldn’t go and see it straight after eating out if I were you, you might not be able to keep your food down thinking about what’s in all those lovely pies. That said, it is definitely worth a visit to the cinema, and I’m going to be picking it up on DVD later too…