1. Johnny Depp is quite amazing--scary, compelling, vivid--in Sweeney Todd. So are Helena Bonham-Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Alan Rickman, and various other more minor players, including the kid who plays Toby, Edward Sanders.
However:
2. Whosoever claims that the blood, gore, and throat-slitting of this movie is somehow not scary or dread-filled, is campy or played just for fun, is either way more sophisticated than I am (probably, it wouldn't be too hard to be more sophisticated than I am) or has seen too many scary, bloody, gory and throat-slitting movies.
I had to watch whole scenes/songs by not watching them. I actually thought this movie was quite powerful--but I couldn't watch the bloody parts. And not only was it bloody, it was dark. Very dark and nihilistic. Like, so dark I might be thinking about some of it for quite awhile. Or maybe having horrible, bloody, gory nightmares about it, despite what some sophisticated superannuated types may say.
I couldn't watch many of the scenes in Sweeney Todd. I also thought I would have nightmares, but didn't. I don't care how gummy and fake-looking that blood was, it was still gross and frightening and disturbing.
ReplyDeleteI love this musical. I'll never forget the first time I stumbled onto the Angela Lansbury version on TV one night. I sat with horrow, watching myself laugh at this amazing show. Is it still possible to laugh, to see the gory humor in this thing? I don't want that lost in all the real blood. Though this is a pretty awful story, I admit it.
ReplyDeleteI kept looking away, too. But that applies to lots of movies and even tv shows. The gore still gets me, stylized or no.
ReplyDeletesuperb. absolutely fantastic.
ReplyDeleteoh. i mean the movie as a whole.
johnny depp was great, as were the other cast members but J. D. was truly at a best.
but i still couldn't fully watch the bloody scenes...
super glad i saw it though