Sweeney Todd

"Sweeney Todd" is the story of a barber who spent 15 years in prison although he committed no crime except perhaps that he married a beautiful woman. Now that he is free, he vows his revenge on the judge and all mankind.

I watched this film and recognized many actors and actresses. The interesting part came when I looked up their past roles and saw common connections. It is widely publicized that this is the seventh project for director Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.

The cast included Johnny Depp (Willy Wonka in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") as Sweeney Todd, Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Bucket in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and Bellatrix Lestrange in "Harry Potter") as Mrs. Lovett, Alan Rickman (Severus Snape in "Harry Potter") as Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall (Wormtail/Peter Pettigrew in "Harry Potter" and Nathaniel in "Enchanted") as Beadle Bamford, and Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat") as Signor Adolfo Pirelli and Todd's first victim.

The movie is quite gruesome. On stage, where this musical originated, the blood would be imaginary or possibly grease paint because any liquid would be difficult to clean up during or after a performance. On film, they can reset the scene as many times as desired, so the blood flowed freely.

Every person sang for his or her role. It's a musical--life plays out in song. Part of why I wanted to see this movie came down to hearing Johnny Depp sing.

At the end, I was impressed with the story and the performances.