Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is a film directed by one of the most talented and unique directors of all time, Tim Burton. Released in 2007, it follows the story of London barber Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), who has a beautiful wife Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly) and daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener) His whole life is perfect, until one day a corrupt judge by the name of Turpin (Alan Rickman) stumbles upon them and has eyes for his wife Lucy, or as Barker himself says in the film “There was another man who saw that she was beautiful”. Because of this, Turpin frames Barker and has him sent away from London, and in doing so hopes he can woo Lucy to be his. After 15 years Barker returns to London but with a new look and a new name, Sweeney Todd. He wants to see his wife and daughter, but things don’t turn out as he hoped. He makes his way to fleet street where he finds a pie shop and is where he meets the owner Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) They start talking and Mrs. Lovett mentions the original owner of the shop, which turns out to be Benjamin Barker. She explains what happened to him and his family and because Barker, or now Todd, was sent away, he didn’t know what happened to his family until now. Upon hearing what happened he now seeks to get his daughter back and to ultimately get his revenge on the judge.
The cinematography is great and unique, and it works perfectly with the tone of the whole film. It’s gritty, dark and depressing and it captures what 19th century London looked like and makes you feel it as well. One sequence that I think proves this is when Todd gets off the boat and begins walking. We get a long shot which gives us an idea of the surroundings, he then walks into a tunnel, and we get a mid-shot as he slowly walks towards the camera. The camera then lowers and pans to the right as it follows his feet. Throughout this whole sequence the lighting is low key and there is very little light, with the only source coming from lampposts and a few torches. This scene alone captures the style and tone of the whole film, though there are still many other sequences throughout that do so as well.
Another thing that stands out from the film is the sound and the music. The whole film is basically a musical and you would think that mixing it with the style of Tim Burton wouldn't work but that is not the case. Just like with the cinematography, it captures what London would have looked like at the time. With the sound it captures what London would have sounded and felt like back then. This is best proven in the scene where Todd and Mrs. Lovett are at the market, and you hear shopkeepers shouting and trying to sell goods, as well as chickens clucking and so on. The music is very well written and also sung very well. It fits in throughout the film and never takes away from the tone. All the songs are rememberable, catchy and can easily get stuck in your head.
Overall, the whole film is amazing from start to finish and is a bloody good time. The cinematography, the sounds, the music, the editing, the acting you name it, it’s all incredible. This is 100% a must watch and I highly recommend it.
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