Mr. T’s Epiphany

After I watched Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, I went back to the New York Times review of the film, which is what really spurred me to watch it. I am linking it, again, because now I can say that it is most accurate in its description. Right about now, I don't want to sleep yet because I fear I might have nightmares. The movie is gorgeous visually, albeit twisted. Stunning might be a more apt and literal description, though. I admire the vision of Tim Burton, the edgy portrayal of Johnny Depp, and the music of Stephen Sondheim. I was kind of relieved to know that the backbone story wasn't really Sondheim's. He did write the music and lyrics but the story "was originally serialized in Britain in the 1840s, and was the basis of a play written by Christopher Bond and of Hugh Wheeler’s book for the stage musical."  

This says it all:

It is cruel in its effects and radical in its misanthropy, expressing a breathtakingly, rigorously pessimistic view of human nature. It is also something close to a masterpiece, a work of extreme — I am tempted to say evil — genius.

-  A.O. Scott (December 21, 2007)

If you're the least bit curious, watch the trailer, read the review, and go watch the film. I agree that there's so much good stuff here you'll miss if you'll get turned off by the brutal premise. I came for the music, for one, and got to hear some of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces there are. I cannot say for sure how you'll react to it, but as the reviewer warned, "It's not Hairspray." That's why I'm going to watch Hairspray on DVD, right about now.