Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one of my favourite movies. It is an ingenious mixture of drama, horror and musical, based on the hit Broadway musical. The pale and darkened colors take us back in the Victorian London.
This adaptation of the actual musical was directed by Tim Burton, starring Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman (who are also known for the roles of Bellatrix Lestrange and Severus Snape) and the famous Johnny Depp (who already has a history with Burton).
Now, let’s see the plot. The barber Benjamin Barker was married to a gorgeus girl named Lucy and had a lovely baby together. It was just like a fairytale, but Barker was falsely charged and sentenced to penal transportation for a crime he did not commit. He was convicted by the corrupt Judge Turpin, who had lusted his wife.
Fifteen years later Barker manages to escape and return to London, becoming "Sweeney Todd" and at Mrs. Nellie Lovett's meetpie shop's second floor he sets up a new barbery. His wife is said to have been arsenic poisoned by herself after Turpin raped her. This desperate desire for revenge and the new barber shop become a basis for a sinister partnership with Mrs. Lovett and her juicy pies. As the story is unfolding, the musical’s songs are being sung by the actors.
Some people might have not liked that film. As critics are just about to judge the actor’s voices and the musical accompaniment, some of my friends found the plot a bit cheesy and overrated. Besides, of course, the people who don’t like musicals and/or horroristic scenes won’t apprecieate their combination.
The ornate language and the archaic expressions widen the viewer’s vocabulary. So do the songs with the original lyrics. I really can recommend it for the students of English.
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