Sweeney Todd Response
I have to admit, musicals are not my favorite genre, but I love the movie Sweeney Todd. Unlike its happy-go-lucky counterparts, Sweeney is a dark and twisted movie accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack and dark humor. The movie opens with a number about London, the city in which the film takes place. The song features the line, “There’s a hole in the world like a great black pit, and the vermin of the world inhabit it, and its morals aren’t worth what a pig could spit, and it goes by the name of London.” Everything about the way this film was constructed serves to illustrate these words. In this film, London appears to be the darkest and dingiest of cities.
The set is full of dark and damp, cobblestone streets. The sky is perpetually dark and cloudy, giving the city an ominous and gloomy lighting. The only scenes that are brightly lit are Sweeney Todd’s happy memories with his wife and child before they are taken away from him. The rest of the film has a grey and washed out appearance, like the yellowed wallpaper peeling off of the walls of Sweeney Todd’s apartment. The costumes too are all dark colored. Sweeney wears a black, leather jacket and black vests and Mrs. Lovett wears a faded, dark brown dress and black corset. Their faces are covered in a pale makeup with dark shadows around their eyes, giving them a gaunt and haunted look. When they go into the market, all the other inhabitants of the city are wearing dark clothing as well. This contributes to the desolate picture that is being created of London. The only one who wears light clothing is Johanna, who is the only pure and beautiful thing to be found in the whole of the city.
The soundtrack too, is eerie and dark, written in mostly minor keys. The songs are eerie but they are infectious, with melodies that get caught in your head. The orchestra accompaniment is extremely strong, making the musical numbers theatrical and dramatic. Many of the pieces are also quite darkly humorous. For example the song, “A Little Priest”, details all the different kinds of people they are going to put in their meat pies and how each of them will taste.
The casting for this movie was also imperative to its success. Johnny Depp plays the mad man perfectly with his wild, darting eyes, malicious smile, and thin voice. He also saturates his singing with his anger extremely well. Another impressive performance was that of Edward Sanders. Sanders plays the little boy Tobias, whom Mrs. Lovett takes under her wing. He is a chipper and sincere boy who performs an extremely beautiful and convincing, “Not While I’m Around”. He swears to protect Mrs. Lovett from everything because she saved him from the abuse of the workhouse. When Sweeney Todd tosses her into the fire, Tobias slits his throat. From the look on his face, you cannot help but wonder whether Mr. Todd has created another murderous madman by robbing Tobias of the only person he has ever loved.