Johnny Depp is Devilishly Delightful as Sweeney Todd

Ever since my brother Nathan decided he was a theatre enthusiast, he's been introducing us to some rather unusual fare. One of the shows he's been gushed about the most is Steven Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. When I saw last year that a movie was in the works, that it was helmed by Tim Burton, one of Nathan's favorite directors and that it starred Johnny Depp, one of his favorite actors, I knew we'd be making a trek to the cinema together not long after it was released. I suspected my squeamish mom would not be joining us, but earlier this week, she braved the promise of rivers of garish holly-red blood in order to see what all the fuss was about.

Depp once again disappears into a freakish leading role, one that holds visual echoes of Edward Scissorhands, but the self-named Sweeney has none of Edward's sweetness, except perhaps in the idyllic, sun-drenched flashbacks depicting his life as Benjamin Barker, renowned barber and blissful young groom. The Sweeney we meet is jaded and brooding, having spent 15 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit so Turpin (Alan Rickman), a lecherous judge, could lay hands on his gorgeous wife. When he learns from the unkempt Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham-Carter), who resides in his old building and eyes her fabled predecessor with adulation, that the lovely Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly) poisoned herself after Turpin forced himself on her and that their daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener) is now in the judge's care, Sweeney immediately begins to plot revenge.

This all works out very nicely for Mrs. Lovett, in dire need not only of companionship but of a new business model, since her bug-infested wares are "the worst pies in London," as she resignedly admits when she and Sweeney meet. He stumbles upon a sinister solution when faced with blackmail from Signor Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), an overdramatic hack peddling hair tonic with the help of an angel-voiced orphan named Toby (Ed Sanders). He'll lure in a few undesirables a week - solitary types whose absence no one will note - and Presto! Meat shortage problem solved. All right, so it's all a bit messy, and Sweeney soon has a collection of red stains on his clothes to complement the white streak in his hair, but no one in town seems the wiser, and everyone flocks to the suddenly sumptuous pie shop while Mrs. Lovett coyly refuses to divulge her secret ingredient.

The look of the film is forbiddingly dark and gritty, an anti-advertisement for London if I ever saw one, and that city has been portrayed unflatteringly in quite a few movies. A layer of grime and gloom seems to hang over the city, giving all but the dreamy flashbacks and the hilarious fantasy flash-forwards a grave, nearly colorless tone broken only by the blood flowing freely from the throats of Sweeney's unsuspecting customers. The vibrant hue of the blood lends a slightly cartoonish quality to those scenes, a stylistic choice that is helpful to those lacking a fondness for gore who don't shut their eyes quickly enough upon seeing the barber chair of doom. It's nice to have such a simple cue; I managed to avoid seeing most of the blood, though I could still hear the gurgling and spluttering that accompanied each death thrust. If only I could close my ears so easily...

The movie's menacing menagerie includes three of Harry Potter's creepiest. Though Bonham-Carter's whispery tones are nothing like Bellatrix's vile cackling, her wild appearance is similar, and her salacious attention to Sweeney recalls Bella's unrequited devotion to Voldemort. Timothy Spall displays much more self-assured arrogance as Beadle Barnford than sniveling Peter Pettigrew ever did, but he too is just a lackey for the big baddie. That would be the deliciously despicable Turpin. Rickman once again portrays an unpalatable authority figure with a certain taste for beautiful young women. The names are even similar - Lily and Lucy. Turpin "looks fairer and feels fouler" than greasy Snape ever did. Sadly, he doesn't really get to do much talking, but we do hear him sing, which is a treat.

While all the hardened, world-weary adults in the film boast familiar faces, there are three youngsters for whom a brighter tomorrow could still be conceivable. Toby is my favorite of these, a scrappy orphan who bonds with Mrs. Lovett after being delivered from the hands of the cruel Pirelli but remains suspicious of Sweeney. He knows the barber is up to no good, and just like Bart and Lisa in the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror classic Nightmare Cafeteria, he's bound to stumble upon the terrible truth behind those tasty pastries.

While we watch, wondering whether the boy with the golden pipes can survive under the same roof as a murderous madman, a tender romance plays out on the sidelines. When idealistic, rather dim-witted young Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower) lays eyes on the delicate Johanna, locked in her room, it's love at first sight, and he spends the rest of the movie trying to rescue her from her nefarious captor. With its echoes of Marius and Cosette in Les Miserables, it's sweet enough, especially since there is no Eponine to get jilted in this case, but as with Les Mis I'm much more interested in the conflict between the criminal and the man who sent him to jail. Though Sweeney is more villain than hero once he returns to London, he remains compelling as Depp snarls his way through the role. He's clearly a victim, but once he becomes victimizer is he still someone to root for? That's a tricky question.

And it's not one I'm going to try to answer here. Rather, I'll just leave you with the list of lessons my brother and I took away from Sweeney Todd.:

* Don't dwell on the past.
* Don't be especially good-looking or married to anyone especially good-looking.
* Shave yourself.

Oh, and for those who haven't learned it yet, never doubt the ability of Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter to make marvelously macabre movie magic.