Creative quotient
Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (ST) is a musical and an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s stage musical of the same name. It revolves around the sinister endeavours of Sweeny Todd (Johnny Depp) who sets up a barber shop in London. With his tenant Mrs Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who runs a meat-pie shop, as his accomplice Todd slaughters his customers. Their carcasses make for some innovative meat pie recipes as Todd and Lovett’s business goes booming.
ST is a dark tale of love, romance, revenge and deceit. Its choc-a-bloc full of ballads and waltz, just as one would expect of a musical.
Sweeny Todd’s character is shown as clay cold and dull owing to his disturbing past. His accomplice Mrs Lovett is a complete contrast to him with her cheerful and comic reprise. Together the two characters unfold a poetic contrast of horror and humour in the same film.

Technical expertise
The film is without a shadow of a doubt engaging and moving. While many musicals drift into a not-so-useful medley of songs during their runtime, ST excels at the use of its tunes. The melodies in this film are used well to elaborate on the gaps of the main storyline.
The performances from the entire cast are ‘A’ grade. The central characters of Lovett and Todd played by Carter and Depp just steal the show. Carter’s expressions and performance as the deceitful yet charming Mrs Lovett make watching the film a pleasurable experience. Depp’s portrayal of the sadistic and impulsive Todd was just as magnificent as any of his past roles. The actor really excelled in presenting the characters finer nuances using accents, facial expressions and body language.
Director Tim Burton, who has always had a fancy for darkness and gore has not held back on any shock-inducing element in this film. The uncut version has plenty of slashing and gashing. ST is not an extraordinary story told on cinema, but it’s a clichéd tale told with extraordinary flamboyance.

Verdict
The film is a treat for the ears and eyes. It’s worth four stars. Depp and Carter’s acting takes one star, Burton’s direction is worthy of another. Sondheim’s original story is preserved and that gives ST another star and the final star for its elaborate and inspiring visual works.